SpaceX launches new batch of Starlink satellites to orbit

Just hours after launching a crewed mission to the International Space Station, SpaceX on Saturday, August 26, launched and deployed 22 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the new batch of Starlink satellites lifted off at 9:05 p.m. ET, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Following stage separation, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth for a safe landing on the "Just Read the Instructions" droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

This particular first stage booster had successfully launched two previous missions - the European Space Agency's Euclid mission and the Axiom Mission 2(Ax-2).

For the unversed, Starlink is a vast satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit to provide high-speed and reliable internet coverage globally. The ambitious project aims to bridge the global digital divide by delivering internet access to even the most remote and underserved regions around the world.

Falcon 9 launches 22 @Starlink satellites from Florida pic.twitter.com/b1Zf78Qzxn

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 27, 2023

Earlier on Saturday, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched the Crew-7 mission for NASA, the seventh operational human spaceflight mission of Dragon to the space station. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, Endurance, with four astronauts aboard launched at 3:27 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Crew-7 mission carried NASA astronaut Jasmin Moghbeli, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. Following the spacecraft's hatch opening, the quartet was welcomed by the Expedition 69 crew aboard the orbiting laboratory on Sunday, August 27.

Welcome aboard, #Crew7! The four @NASA @SpaceX Crew-7 members joined the seven-member Exp 69 crew aboard the space station today, expanding its population to 11. https://t.co/MFmYPgUklf pic.twitter.com/1zZ3NhWXtL

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) August 27, 2023