8 months ago
123
A
Falcon 9 rocket
successfully launched from
Cape Canaveral
, carrying a payload of 21
Starlink satellites
into orbit on Saturday morning. Among these satellites, 13 are equipped with direct-to-cell capability, marking the 187th launch of the company's Starlink internet relay satellites.
The purpose of these satellites is to provide
communication services
in high-latitude regions that are not adequately covered by traditional
geosynchronous satellites
.
With this latest launch, the total number of Starlinks launched has reached 6,854, with 6,239 of them believed to be operational prior to Saturday's mission, according to space statistician Jonathan McDowell.
SpaceX
has plans for two additional launches on Sunday. One will take place at the
Kennedy Space Center
, aiming to deploy 23 more Starlinks into orbit.
The other launch will occur at
Vandenberg Space Force Base
in
California
, with the objective of carrying
Norway Space
's twin Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission relay stations into a highly elliptical orbit.
English (US)