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Washington: The US SpaceX on Saturday launched 24 new Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit as part of its plans to expand its global satellite internet network.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, before the first stage successfully returned to land on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX said in a statement.
It added that this mission marked the 17th launch and landing of the booster known as B1081, while the upper stage continued its journey to deploy the 24 satellites approximately 62.5 minutes after launch, according to the planned schedule.
With the addition of this batch, the total number of operational satellites in the Starlink network rises to over 8,100, reinforcing its position as the largest satellite constellation in the world.
By 2025, SpaceX has conducted 102 Falcon 9 launches, over 70% of which were dedicated to Starlink missions.
