CAPE CANAVERAL, FL-- SpaceX successfully launched another batch of 60 Starlink satellites, but missed the booster landing.The company confirmed that the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket made a "soft landing" in the water nearby the intended landing spot on a drone ship.
The company has successfully landed boosters 49 times prior to today's launch.In the coming weeks, the satellites will use on-board thrusters to begin orbiting earth and they will begin working to provide high-speed internet to users worldwide.
This launch brings the total number of satellites up to 300, making SpaceX the largest commercial satellite operator in the world.
The space-tech company is deploying thousands of satellites into space by the end of 2020 to beam broadband internet back from space.
They’ve laid plans to launch an unprecedented number of space missions dedicated to hauling batches of its broadband bearing satellites into space.
According to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission, those satellites will create Starlink, a constellation planned to cover more territory using fewer satellites to beam internet back to earth.
They areas they are looking to cover first are the hurricane belt in the southern US territories like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, that would keep them online, even after a storm damages terrestrial coverage.
SpaceX is receiving its share of challenges from potential competitors including OneWeb, and FCC has yet to approve the plans, but regulators seem to be eager to accommodate Space X’s plans.
The company hopes to be the largest internet provider in the southern U.S. by the end of this year.