SpaceX launches 4th batch of Starlink satellites as it builds internet service
Sixty more Starlink satellites were fired into space aboard a reusable Falcon 9 rocket
Entrepreneur Elon Musk's brainchild SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink satellites into space aboard a reusable Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday morning.
The ambitious space company has already deployed more than 100 satellites that are dedicated to delivering high-speed internet.
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The launch from Cape Canaveral was the fourth Starlink mission undertaken by SpaceX. The first stage of Falcon 9 safely landed eight-and-a-half minutes after launch in the Atlantic Ocean on SpaceX's "Of Couse I Still Love You" droneship, which the company celebrated as its "49th successful landing of an orbital class booster."
The satellites successfully deployed about an hour after launch. The Starlink satellites will be visible from the ground as they orbit the earth, at least for a while. Onboard thrusters will propel them to an altitude of roughly 550 km (340 miles), where they'll be much harder to spot.
With SpaceX receiving the green light from the Federal Communications Commission to launch up 12,000 Starlink spacecrafts in Earth's low orbit, experts are concerned with how SpaceX will impact astronomy in the next few years. SpaceX had to test a new Starlink satellite with a specialized anti-reflective coating that won't interfere with the night sky after outcry from astronomers.
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Last week, SpaceX successfully tested a simulated rocket failure following multiple delays due to weather. The company plans to transport NASA astronauts.
FOX Business' Cortney Moore contributed to this report.
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