MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. — 60 more Starlink internet satellites were deployed in low Earth orbit Sunday, now the 22nd batch to make the trip on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The 6:01 a.m. launch was originally scheduled for March 13 and delayed, according to Spaceflight Now.
About an hour after launch, the sky above Kennedy Space Center was aglitter.
Remnants of the Falcon 9 exhaust plume interacted with noctilucent and cirrus clouds, catching the sunrise while the land was still dark, filling the ether with color:
SpaceX says that the Falcon 9 booster used for this mission successfully returned, landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in its ninth such flight, a company record.
The Starlink fleet now totals 1,325 units, with each launch adding a bit more coverage to the worldwide network as beta testing continues.
At the time of this report, SpaceX plans to launch another Falcon 9 rocket with 60 more Starlink satellites at 12:37 a.m. on March 21, 2021.