SpaceX launch doubleheader puts 51 Starlinks and Inmarsat relay station into orbit
CBSN
SpaceX launched Falcon 9 rockets from both coasts Friday, firing off 51 of the company's Starlink internet satellites from California, and then boosting a high-power Inmarsat commercial relay station into orbit from Florida.
The latest batch of Starlinks was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles, at 2:12 p.m. EST. The climb to space went smoothly, and 15 minutes after liftoff, the Starlinks were released in a batch, slowly spreading apart as they drifted away.
SpaceX has now launched 3,981 broadband relay stations in 75 flights as the California rocket builder populates its globe-spanning commercial constellation with tens of thousands of satellites, providing low-latency, relatively high-speed internet to customers at any point on the planet.
