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SpaceX launched 49 of its own Starlink broadband communications satellites from Florida on Thursday afternoon in a mission delayed by over a week.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 1:13 p.m. EST into a sunny, warm sky from Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
The Starlink launch had been postponed repeatedly as the company dealt with adverse weather and other delays to launch an Italian satellite that finally lifted off Monday.
"Falcon nine has successfully cleared pad 39A to carry 49 Starlink satellites into orbit," SpaceX avionics production supervisor Andy Tran said during a live broadcast.
The rocket flew in a southern trajectory along Florida's eastern coast over the Atlantic Ocean, the company said in a brief mission description.
SpaceX recovered the first-stage booster of the rocket in the Atlantic Ocean on a barge called A Shortfall of Gravitas -- the sixth recovery for the reusable first stage. Landings at sea are necessary if the booster has used too much fuel to return to land.
The company also intended to recover the fairing, or nosecone, halves at sea, which flew for the sixth time and fourth time during the mission.
SpaceX has launched more than 2,000 Starlink satellites, and plans to deploy thousands more.
The Starlink network is designed to provide high-speed Internet access to customers in remote areas, but also is available in many major cities.
Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
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