Elon Musk’s SpaceX has sent another 49 Starlink satellites into orbit on Thursday.
Gatekeepers News reports that SpaceX launched its 35th batch of Starlink satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida at 16:49 EST (21:49 GMT) Thursday (January 6).
Starlink is a constellation of more than 1,800 satellites that aims to provide internet access to most of the Earth, particularly underserved rural areas.
As part of its beta service, Starlink internet is already available in 23 countries around the world, including the UK.
‘Deployment of 49 Starlink satellites confirmed,’ SpaceX tweeted. ‘Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship.’
Musk himself also confirmed deployment of the Starlink satellites ‘with lasers’ –which route data between individual satellites in the constellation.
Nearly 2,000 Starlink satellites have been launched into space since the first couple in February 2018; however, many have been decommissioned or have since failed.
As of Thursday, there are 1,824 Starlink satellites in orbit that are now working, including this latest batch.
The launch comes only days after high-profile criticism of the firm that its Starlink satellites are hogging space, leading to near-collisions.
Musk was blasted in late 2021 by China over two ‘close encounters’ between his satellites and Beijing’s new space station, Tiangong.
