Created 30-Mar-23
Modified 13-Dec-23
excerpts from flatoday.com...
At 4:01 p.m. EDT, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket vaulted away from the Cape’s Launch Complex 40 to follow a southeasterly trajectory between the state’s east coast and the Bahamas. Shortly after stage separation, the 162-foot booster somersaulted for a landing aboard the Just Read the Instructions drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, marking its fourth successful launch and landing.
Meanwhile, the second stage, loaded with 56 Starlink satellites, continued on its journey to low-Earth orbit.
The Starlink space-based internet service is provided by a constellation that spans more than 3,750 satellites, according to a database maintained by Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Wednesday’s mission marked SpaceX’s 77th dedicated launch for the constellation, which delivers internet connectivity to most of North and South America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and hard-to-reach locations like Antarctica. It’s also available on some planes, cruise ships, and recreational vehicles.
© Dennis Huff
