INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Sunday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on the east coast of Florida, carrying 51 Starlink
internet satellites to orbit.Also on board with Starlink Group 4-20 was Sherpa-LTC2, a space tug provided by Seattle-based company
The tug is carrying a payload for Boeing&s Varuna Technology Demonstration Mission (Varuna-TDM), which &aims to test V-band communications
for a proposed constellation of 147 non-geostationary broadband satellites,& according to SpaceNews.The first Sherpa-LTC orbital transfer
vehicle was removed from a January 2022 SpaceX launch opportunity due to a propellant leak, SpaceNews added.Sunday&s flight plan called for
SpaceX to bring the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket back to Earth for a soft touchdown on the droneship which was stationed in the
Atlantic Ocean.The landing — the seventh for this particular booster — occurred as planned, about 8.5 minutes after launch.Sherpa-LTC2
deployed from the Falcon 9&s upper stage about 49 minutes after liftoff, and the Starlinks followed suit 23 minutes after that, SpaceX
confirmed via Twitter.SpaceX has already sent more than 3,000 Starlink satellites into orbit, in an effort to create a huge constellation
for broadband service targeted for remote areas.Sunday&s launch was SpaceX&s 40th of the year and continued to add to the Starlink
megaconstellation.SpaceX has approval to launch 12,000 Starlink satellites and has asked an international regulator to give the thumbs-up to
an additional 30,000.In late August, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk announced plans to beam connectivity directly to smartphones using
Starlink, in conjunction with T-Mobile
Another deal announced Tuesday will see Starlink service beamed to Royal Caribbean cruise ships.The post SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket
carrying starlink satellites first appeared on Ariana News.
