You can watch the live launch of the Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday.
The launch of the two-stage Falcon 9 is scheduled for Thursday. The 53 Starlink internet satellites were carried from Florida to the Space Force Station. You can watch it here at Space.com, or via the company. Coverage is expected to start about 15 minutes before liftoff.
The 12th mission for this particular Falcon 9 first stage will tie a record set last month on a different Starlink launch. It won't be the booster's last flight, if all goes according to plan, as it has done on many other occasions.
The Starlink megaconstellation launches in photos.
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The Starlink megaconstellation provides internet service to customers around the world. The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has caused the nation to lose its communications capabilities, which is why the U.S. Agency for International Development has sent thousands of Starlink terminals to the country.
More than 2,300 Starlink satellites have been launched to date, but many more will be lofted. The next-generation version of the megaconstellation could have up to 30,000 spaceships, according to paperwork filed by the company.
Starlink satellites have been going up at a rapid pace recently, and eight of the 14 missions that SpaceX has launched so far this year have been dedicated Starlink flights.
Four private astronauts were sent to the International Space Station after the April 8 launch of the Ax-1 mission. The Crew-4 mission for NASA, which will send four professional spaceflyers to the orbiting lab for a lengthy stay, is coming up shortly after the Starlink launch.
The crew is scheduled to lift off on April 26. Bad weather in the projected splashdown zone for Ax-1 pushed the departure from the station from Tuesday to Saturday. NASA wants at least a two-day window between Crew-4 and the splashdown.
Mike Wall is the author of Out There, a book about the search for alien life. You can follow him on social media. Follow us on social media.
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