SpaceX Falcon 9 launch early Friday sends more Starlink internet satellites to orbit
Early Friday, Aug. 11, a SpaceX Falcon 9 carried more Starlink internet satellites to orbit after lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1:17 a.m. EDT.
The 230-foot rocket arced away from Launch Complex 40 on a southeasterly trajectory over the Atlantic Ocean, skirting between the Florida coast and the Bahamas.
The mission, dubbed Starlink 6-9, marked the 41st launch of the year from the Space Coast.
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The rocket's first stage, which flew its ninth mission to date, completed an ocean landing aboard the Just Read the Instructions drone ship about eight minutes after liftoff.
Friday's launch added 22 more Starlink satellites to SpaceX's constellation, which operates about 340 miles above Earth. To date, the company has sent more than 5,000 of the flat-packed satellites to orbit since first beginning dedicated missions in 2019.
Another Falcon 9 mission from the Cape with dozens more Starlink satellites is expected early next week, but no specific launch dates have been confirmed.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Contact Jamie Groh at JGroh@floridatoday.com and follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX sent more Starlink satellites to orbit early Friday
