On Sunday, July 24, SpaceX launched a group of Starlink satellites. This was the company's 33rd flight of 2022 and the sixth launch for the program in the month of July alone. The Falcon 9 rocket from SpaceX was launched at 9:38 a.m. EDT (1338 GMT) with 53 Starlink internet satellites on board from Florida's Kennedy Space Center (KSC).
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of NASA's ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of human spaceflight.
Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab, and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The management of the two entities work very closely together, share resources, and operate facilities on each other's property.
The Falcon 9's first stage successfully landed on the neighboring droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean at around eight minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff.
This Starlink launch comes after a successful attempt from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Friday (July 22).
The private rocket business SpaceX created a satellite network called Starlink to deliver inexpensive internet to faraway areas. This so-called mega constellation will eventually contain up to 42,000 satellites, according to SpaceX.
The idea for satellite internet from SpaceX was made public in January 2015.
The rocket's first stage gently landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean 8.5 minutes after launch, placing 46 Starlink satellites in orbit. Following an abort on Thursday (July 21) caused by the Falcon 9 rocket at T-46 seconds, it was the second attempt to put Starlink Group 3-2 into orbit.
The most recent Starlink launch from the east coast by SpaceX occurred on Sunday, July 17, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which is close to KSC.
A little over 2,900 Starlink satellites have been deployed to date, providing SpaceX's satellite Internet service. This month, Starlink Group 4-25 expands on earlier launches from both the west and east coasts of the United States.
The business is attempting to speed up service. It has received a regulatory license to launch at least 12,000 Starlink satellites into orbit and is requesting permission from a global regulator to launch an additional 30,000 satellites.
