SpaceX, the rocket company that always seems to be running slightly ahead of schedule and wildly beyond everyone else’s imagination, launched another batch of Starlink satellites into orbit, marking what is now essentially a routine operation that most other countries would still consider the crowning achievement of a decade’s worth of funding and collective sweat.
The launch took place from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, which has apparently become the interstellar equivalent of a post office dropbox for Elon Musk’s private fleet. At precisely 10:55 a.m. EDT, Falcon 9, the reusable rocket that might just be the most overachieving piece of hardware in modern aerospace, lifted off, carrying its cosmic cargo of 23 fresh Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit where they will soon begin beaming internet back to users without access or with a severe dislike for traditional telecom providers.
This particular Falcon 9 booster had already completed more missions than a Bond villain’s henchman, with Sunday’s flight being its 17th. The booster once again executed a successful landing on the company’s of-course-we-still-love-you drone ship in the Atlantic, casually gliding its way down from the heavens like it had just popped out for a cosmic coffee run.
SpaceX’s Starlink project, which aims to create a global satellite internet network that wraps around the planet like a digital scarf, is now believed to include over 5,000 satellites, which is more than the number of visible stars most people can see on a good night if they squint hard and live far away from any major city.
At this point, watching SpaceX launch satellites is less like witnessing feats of science fiction and more like watching a particularly aggressive Amazon Prime delivery schedule unfolding in real time.
Another day, another rocket launch, and somewhere far above us, another 23 satellites beginning their celestial internships.