Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk-owned SpaceX is targeting Friday to launch yet another batch of 53 Starlink satellites to earth’s low orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
What Happened: SpaceX’s partially reusable Falcon 9 rocket that can transport payloads as well as humans into earth and beyond, is scheduled to launch at 5:27 pm ET with a backup opportunity available on Saturday, April 30 at 5:05 pm ET.
This will be the Falcon 9’s sixth flight after launching the Ax-1 mission on April 8 and the GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, and one Starlink mission.
Falcon 9 is expected to land back on the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship, minutes after the liftoff.
The automated drone ship floats on the Atlantic Ocean and helps SpaceX lower costs further.
SpaceX will share the live broadcast along with updates on the liftoff and the deployment.
See Also: SpaceX's Falcon 9 Takes Another 53 Starlink Satellites To Space — Some Confuse Rocket With 'UFO'
Why It Matters: Starlink is a SpaceX venture designed to beam down high-speed internet, especially in remote areas from satellites in orbit to Earth.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) aims to introduce Starlink’s high-speed, satellite-based wireless internet on its planes and has reportedly recently tested the offering.
See Also: Elon Musk's Starlink Could Find Its Way To Delta Airlines' In-Flight Internet
Musk recently said the service would be expanded to 14 countries and that the company is awaiting licenses in several other countries.
Starlink is known to have launched over 1,500 satellites. The company hopes to have 4,425 satellites in orbit by 2024. The Federal Communications Commission has approved 11,943 satellites to be launched by Starlink.
