On Monday, SpaceX marked its first launch of 2025, sending 24 of its Starlink satellites into orbit from the Space Coast of Florida.
At 3:43 p.m. EDT (9:43 p.m WAT), a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 of the company’s Starlink satellites departed Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday.
As scheduled, the first stage of the Falcon 9 touched down on the SpaceX droneship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean around eight minutes after liftoff.
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This marked the 17th launch and landing for the Falcon 9 booster. Notably, one of those missions included Crew-5, which transported astronauts to the International Space Station on behalf of NASA. The remaining missions were dedicated to deploying Starlink satellites.
About 65 minutes after liftoff, the 24 Starlink satellites are anticipated to be deployed from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 while it continues to transport them to low Earth orbit.
As seen by the recent launch, Starlink is the largest constellation of satellites ever deployed and is still expanding.
According to astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell, there are about 6,850 operating Starlink spacecraft currently.
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What you need to know
SpaceX is a private aerospace manufacturer and space transport services provider that was founded by the world’s wealthiest man, Elon Musk in 2002. Its main objective is to make space travel more affordable and make it possible to colonise Mars.
SpaceX developed the Starlink satellite internet service, which provides high-speed, low-latency internet connectivity using cutting-edge technologies.
The internet connectivity landscape is being revolutionised by Starlink satellites. Their constellation of thousands of satellites orbits the Earth at a height of about 550 kilometres, giving consumers worldwide fast and dependable internet access.
Low Earth Orbit, which allows Starlink satellites to orbit the Earth at a significantly lower height than conventional satellites, is one of its primary characteristics. This lowers latency and speeds up the internet.
In addition to having better connection speeds than competitors, it can reach remote locations without Wi-Fi or terrestrial cable infrastructure.
As of December 2024, Starlink is operational in 17 African countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Rwanda, extending its global reach and providing reliable internet to underserved regions.