RNS: SpaceX launched 21 Starlink V2 mini satellites on Wednesday (19 April). At around 10:31 a.m. ET (1431 GMT), a Falcon 9 rocket carrying satellites took off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
SpaceX’s webcast showed the rocket’s first stage landing on the droneship in the Atlantic Ocean 8 minutes and 26 seconds after launch.
According to the reports, this was SpaceX’s 25th launch of 2023 and the eighth launch of a Falcon 9 first-stage booster.
The V2 small Starlink satellites from SpaceX are more powerful than their predecessors and can support more broadband connections, revealed a company statement.
“These satellites are equipped with Hall thrusters, electric propulsion systems that provide more than double the thrust of the systems on the first-generation Starlink satellites,” it said.
According to the reports, SpaceX currently has more over 4,000 Starlink satellites in orbit and has ambitious ambitions to further expand this number. The corporation has regulatory approval to deploy an additional 12,000 Starlink ships and is requesting authorization to deploy an additional 30,000.
