SpaceX launches another 60 Starlink satellites and successfully reclaims the stage used for the sixth time
Today at 11:13 Moscow time, SpaceX launched another 60 Starlink Internet satellites from the Cape Canaveral cosmodrome in Florida using a partially reusable Falcon 9 launch vehicle. After 8 minutes, the first stage was successfully landed on the Just Read the Instructions unmanned barge in the Atlantic Ocean. A little later, the company confirmed the successful launch of satellites into low-earth orbit.
This major stage has already completed six successful rocket launches for various SpaceX missions. By the way, it was she who was used in 2020 during the Demo-2 mission – the first launch of astronauts on the Falcon 9 and the Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. It was also used in the ANALYSIS-II, CRS-21, Transporter-1, and Starlink missions.
Interestingly, this time, the payload fairings used last year were also reused. One part of the nose cone was used during the European satellite Sentinel-6A, and the other – in two commercial satellite missions, ANALYSIS-II and SXM-7.
As a reminder, Starlink customers participating in the Better Than Nothing beta program purchase a kit that includes a phased array dish antenna and a Wi-Fi router for wireless satellite Internet connectivity. In the US, the starter kit costs $ 500 with a monthly subscription fee of $ 100.
SpaceX is set to build a Starlink plant in Texas and roll out satellite services by the end of the year in 25 countries. The company also recently applied to provide satellite Internet access for moving objects.
