SpaceX Launches 60 Satellites For Potential Wi-Fi From Space

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — SpaceX launched another 60 Starlink satellites into orbit Wednesday morning as part of its effort to create a global internet service.

The launch was scheduled for shortly after 6 a.m. PST from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Two previous launch attempts for the Hawthorne-based company were cancelled this week due to weather concerns.

The satellites were propelled into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket that has been used in two previous SpaceX missions — in March 2019 and again in June 2019. After the launch, SpaceX recovered the first stage of the rocket by landing it on SpaceX's barge, called "Of Course I Still Love You," floating in the Atlantic Ocean.

The company also attempted to recover both halves of the rocket's fairing, or nosecone, using boats named "Ms. Tree" and "Ms. Chief," but it was only able to recover one.

SpaceX has already launched 180 satellites as part of its Starlink network. Creating the system is expected to require more than a dozen more rocket launches carrying hundreds more satellites. SpaceX has previously estimated that the proposed Starlink array could involve as many as 12,000 satellites in varying orbits to provide global internet coverage.

Related:

• SpaceX Launches Internet Satellites For Potential WiFi From Space
• SpaceX Seeks To Provide Worldwide WiFi From Space

City News Service contributed to this post