SpaceX added Wednesday 60 Starlink satellites to its broadband-beaming constellation.
The mission was the seventh for the Starlink project. Elon Musk noted on Twitter that there are now 420 operational Starlink satellites.
There are now 420 operational Starlink satellites 🛰 😉
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 22, 2020
Starlink aims to deliver broadband internet service around the globe, particularly where “access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable.”
Starlink will deliver high speed broadband internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 22, 2020
Musk has said that 400 Starlink satellites in orbit will be capable of providing minimal internet coverage, and up to 1,600 to provide moderate coverage. SpaceX could begin the service this year.
Wednesday’s mission employed a Falcon 9 that has now successfully launched and landed four times. The mission launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida marked the 84th Falcon 9 flight, the most of any operational rocket booster in the U.S.
Watch SpaceX’s broadcast of the mission above.