WORLD
SpaceX launches 49 Starlink internet satellites, lands rocket at sea
Baku, January 19, AZERTAC
A two-stage SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 49 Starlink satellites lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida today (Jan. 18) at 9:02 p.m. EST (0203 GMT on Jan. 19), according to Space.com.
About nine minutes later, the rocket's first stage came down to Earth for a pinpoint touchdown on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast.
It was the 10th successful landing for this particular booster, which had previously launched six dedicated Starlink missions, the GPS III-3 satellite for the U.S. military, the Turksat 5A satellite for Turkey and the Transporter 2 rideshare mission, which lofted 85 small satellites and three Starlink craft.
The Falcon 9's second stage, meanwhile, kept powering its way to orbit, eventually deploying the 49 satellites roughly 15 minutes after launch. The second stage was out of range of ground stations when that happened, so confirmation of deployment success didn't come until about an hour later.