Hawthorne-based SpaceX Wednesday launched another 60 satellites into orbit as part of its continuing effort to create its Starlink global internet service.
The launch occurred shortly after 6 a.m. California time from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Two previous launch attempts this week had to be scrubbed due to weather concerns.
The satellites were propelled into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket that has been used in two previous SpaceX missions — in March 2019 and again in June 2019. Following the launch, the company recovered the first stage of the rocket by landing it on SpaceX’s barge, dubbed “Of Course I Still Love You,” floating in the Atlantic Ocean.
The company also attempted to recover both halves of the rocket’s fairing, or nosecone, using boats named “Ms. Tree” and “Ms. Chief,” but it recovered just one.
SpaceX has already launched 180 satellites as part of its Starlink network. Creating the system is expected to require more than a dozen more rocket launches carrying hundreds more satellites. SpaceX has previously estimated that the proposed Starlink array could involve as many as 12,000 satellites in varying orbits to provide global internet coverage.