SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 launch vehicle on Saturday, May 15, with 52 Starlink microsatellites, as well as two satellites from other companies, Tyvak and Capella Space. The rocket launch was broadcast on the SpaceX website.
The launch at 18:56 (01:56 Moscow time on May 16) was made from the site of the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first stage of a SpaceX booster has previously been used on seven launches. Specialists and this time plan to return it to Earth. According to calculations, a few minutes after the start, the stage in automatic mode should smoothly descend onto the floating platform Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic Ocean.
Previously, it was said that the reusable stage allows the company to reduce costs for each subsequent launch.
The Starlink network provides Internet access by deploying many small vehicles weighing up to 500 kg in low-Earth orbit. So, 11 thousand satellites and their commissioning will cost Elon Musk's company $ 10 billion.
