SpaceX launched a pre-dawn Falcon 9 Starlink mission from Florida Thursday morning

Jamie Groh, Florida Today
·1 min read
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Before dawn Thursday morning, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared through cloudy skies over Florida to carry another batch of the company's internet-beaming Starlink satellites to orbit.

The 230-foot rocket lifted off at 4:32 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, marking the fifth to launch from Florida's Space Coast this year.

Skirting along the coast of Florida, the Falcon 9 threaded a southerly trajectory between the state and The Bahamas.

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About eight minutes after liftoff, the 162-foot first stage landed on SpaceX's Just Read the Instructions drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Thursday's flight was the ninth for the booster, having previously supported a variety of missions, including satellite, cargo, and two crewed NASA missions to the International Space Station.

SpaceX's Starlink network provides high-speed internet service from space to hard-to-reach destinations around the globe. According to SpaceX, it is intended for broad usage ranging from residential to aircraft and recreational vehicles to military purposes. The 56 Starlink satellites launched Thursday morning join the more than 3,500 already in orbit.

Another Falcon 9 Starlink mission is possible by the end of the month, but SpaceX has not yet requested a firm launch date.

Beyond that, NASA and SpaceX announced Wednesday that the next crewed mission to carry astronauts to the International Space Station, Crew-6, is expected to launch from Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, February 26.

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

This screen capture from SpaceX's live stream event on Thursday, Jan. 26, shows a Falcon 9 lifting off from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 4:32 a.m. ET. The rocket carried 56 Starlink satellites to orbit for SpaceX.
This screen capture from SpaceX's live stream event on Thursday, Jan. 26, shows a Falcon 9 lifting off from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 4:32 a.m. ET. The rocket carried 56 Starlink satellites to orbit for SpaceX.

Jamie Groh is a space reporter for Florida Today. You can contact her at JGroh@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 pre-dawn Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral