Elon Musk -led Spacex successfully launched 21 Starlink satellites at the Low Earth Orbit on Saturday, February 8 from Cape Canawral Space Force Station in Florida. Originally the prescribed mission for Friday was delayed, but on Saturday afternoon proceeded smoothly under the clear sky.
The Falcon 9 rocket got up from the pad 30 at 2:18 pm local time. About 8.5 minutes after the liftoff, the first phase of the rocket completed its autonomous return, landing on the drone ship ‘A deficiency of gravitas’ posted in the Atlantic Ocean. It marked the 17th successful launch and landing for this particular booster, which has previously supported 12 other Starlink Missions.
SpaceX launched the launch on X, which provides breathtaking views with mounted cameras on the rocket. The audience saw the fierce climb, the rocket in the form of dark sky climbed beyond the earth, and deployment of satellites in the orbit. The stream also captured the dramatic return and landing of the booster on a sea -based drone ship.
The company launches live-stream about five minutes before the liftoff, which offers real-time updates to enthusiasts and stakeholders worldwide.
Look Falcon 9 Launch 21 @Starlink Direct to cell capabilities including satellite, 13 to revolve from Florida
– SpaceX (@Spacex) 8 February, 2025
A notable feature of this launch was that 13 out of 21 satellites are equipped with direct-to-cell capabilities, which are designed to increase global communication services, provide direct satellite connectivity to mobile devices.
SpaceX has now completed 17 Falcon 9 missions in 2025, with 11 starrylink deployment to deployment. Since its first launch in 2018, SpaceX has placed around 7,000 starlink satellites in orbit, each in length of 9.2 feet, 4.6 feet width and 0.7 feet in thickness. The company aims to expand this network up to 42,000 satellites in the coming years, according to the report of Space.com.
SpaceX is now preparing for another major event – a first -chanting booster landing from the coast of Bahamas prescribed for Monday. SpaceX officials recently met with Bahamian leaders to discuss the upcoming operation.
While SpaceX continued its starlink expansion, it recently suffered a blow with its starship prototype. On 16 January, a starship upper platform broke a few minutes after being launched from Texas, forcing him to graze again due to debris to fall airline flights in the Gulf of Mexico.
The spacecraft lost communication eight minutes after the lift, inspired SpaceX Communications Manager Dan Huot to confirm an discrepancy. The video footage grabbed the bright orange debris across the sky over Haiti, causing the trail behind the smoke.
