CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Thursday marked a successful launch of SpaceX's latest batch of its ever-growing constellation of networked Starlink satellites
A Falcon 9 rocket carried the 49 satellites into orbit after lifting off from Florida's coast at 1:14 p.m.
"The goal of Starlink is to create a network that will help provide internet services to those who are not yet connected and to provide reliable and affordable internet across the globe," according to officials.
If you missed all the action you can watch a recap of the launch below:
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SpaceX will once again launch a batch of its ever-growing constellation of networked Starlink satellites into orbit Thursday.
The company, spearheaded by Elon Musk, is set to launch 49 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The satellites will hitch a ride from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Liftoff is targeted for an instantaneous launch window of 1:13 p.m. ET on Feb. 3 from the historic Launch Complex 39A.
"The goal of Starlink is to create a network that will help provide internet services to those who are not yet connected and to provide reliable and affordable internet across the globe," according to officials.
Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Center for Astrophysics, has been tracking the constellation of satellites and reports SpaceX has launched a total of 2,042. Of those, his data shows that 1,846 made it to orbit and are currently operating.
SpaceX says the booster supporting this mission has previously launched the Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23 and IXPE missions. The "A Shortfall of Gravitas" droneship will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean for the Falcon 9's first stage to autonomously land following stage separation.
You can catch the mission from SpaceX with live coverage starting about 15 minutes prior to liftoff. Or you can tune into 10 Tampa Bay, where we will be streaming live on Facebook and YouTube.
