SpaceX’s broadband internet constellation grew again today (May 31), with the launch of 27 satellites into Earth orbit.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the additions to the Starlink network lifted off at 1:10 p.m. PDT (4:10 p.m. EDT or 2010 GMT) on Saturday from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Station in southern California.
About 8 minutes later, the Falcon’s first stage returned to Earth, landing vertically on the ocean-based droneship “Of Course I Still Love You.” This was the 25th flight for this booster, including 14 previous Starlink launches, according to SpaceX’s website for Saturday’s mission.
The 27 satellites were on course to be deployed at just under an hour after they left the ground.
According to SpaceX’s billionaire founder Elon Musk, the Starlink network is not only a needed solution for people outside the reach of other broadband options, but a key to the company’s plans for the future.
“Starlink internet is what is being used to pay for humanity going to Mars,” Musk said during a recent update delivered to employees at SpaceX’s Starship facility in Starbase, Texas. “I would like to thank everyone out there who has bought Starlink because you are helping to secure the future of civilization and helping make life interplanetary.”
Starlink is now the largest satellite constellation ever launched into Earth orbit. According to satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, there are currently more than 7,600 active Starlink spacecraft out of the nearly 8,790 total units deployed to date.