SpaceX’s latest Starlink launch looks like a sci-fi fantasy

SpaceX continued to SpaceX last Saturday, shooting yet another rocket into space. Here are some pics so you know it happened.

Launched from Cape Canaveral at 7:19 a.m, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was loaded with 53 Starlink satellites destined to join the 1,791 already orbiting Earth. The Starlink internet network currently serves around 100,000 people, though SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has ambitions to significantly increase its load.

Spruiked as a “high-speed, low latency” internet service, the official Starlink website claims “[u]sers can expect to see download speeds between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s and latency as low as 20ms in most locations.” There are over 600,000 pre-orders for Starlink, though SpaceX will have to ramp up production to serve them all in a timely fashion. As of September, the company was only manufacturing 5,000 Starlink dishes per day. 

Fortunately Saturday’s Starlink satellite launch went off without a hitch, even after it was initially delayed 24 hours due to unfavourable weather.

Credit: SpaceX

Credit: SpaceX

Credit: SpaceX

Credit: SpaceX

Credit: SpaceX