SpaceX sends 20th Starlink mission into space

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - After previous delays due to weather concerns, SpaceX successfully launched another batch of Starlink internet satellites into space aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

At approximately 8-and-a-half minutes after liftoff, the first stage landed on the drone ship "Of Course, I Still Love You" in the Atlantic Ocean, marking the eighth recovery for this specific booster rocket.

Thursday's launch represents the 20th Starlink mission to date and the sixth mission in 2021.

This launch had already been postponed three times this week. With just over a minute left on the countdown clock on Sunday, the launch was aborted due to an automatic trigger.  It was rescheduled for Monday and then again on Tuesday but was impacted by the weather each time.

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SpaceX says Starlink can deliver high-speed broadband Internet to locations where access has been unreliable or completely unavailable, "ideally suited for areas of the globe where connectivity has typically been a challenge."

There are said to be hundreds of Starlink satellites already in orbit, the largest constellation of artificial satellites. The plan is to eventually have thousands of them in orbit.

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You can watch the launch live when it happens on FOX 35 News.