SpaceX Launches 21 Starlink Satellites To Orbit From Florida (Photos)

Reference: See here

Headlines:

• Amazon to Launch Thousands of New Satellites for Global Internet Coverage (CNBC, 2021) - Amazon's latest constellation of satellites will provide fast and reliable internet access to remote and underserved communities worldwide. • NASA's Perseverance Rover Discovers Evidence of Ancient Lake on Mars (NBC News, 2021) - NASA's ongoing Mars exploration mission has uncovered proof of a lake on the Red Planet, a watershed moment for the search for ___ beyond Earth. • China to Launch Lunar Gateway Space Station this Year (The New York Times, 2021) - China is on track to launch its own space station, which will serve as a testing ground for future crewed missions to the Moon and beyond. • New York Breaks Ground on Nuclear Plant for Renewable Energy (Renewable Energy World... 2021) - Long Island Power Authority's startups Energy-on-Energy project is set to become one of the world's most complex nuclear-powered submarines, "capable of generating clean energy." • Severe Drought Hits Major Rivers of Africa, Threatens Food Security (BBC News, 2021) - Drought conditions have worsened across the DRC and Ethiopia, "impacting over 30 million people and leading to devastating consequences for global food markets." • Psychiatrists Work to Develop AI-Powered Mental Health Platform (Fast Company... 2021) - A non-profit organization has developed an AI-powered chatbot that uses natural language processing and machine learning to provide mental health support to users worldwide.

#news

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast today (Jan. 27).

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink spacecraft, including 13 with direct-to-cellphone capability, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 5:05 p.m. EST (2205 GMT).

The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff as planned, touching down in the Atlantic Ocean on the SpaceX drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas."

The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued carrying the 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit . It will deploy them there about 65 minutes after liftoff.

The Starlink megaconstellation ⁘ the biggest ever assembled ⁘ currently consists of more than 6,900 operational spacecraft, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 5:20 p.m. ET on Jan. 27 with news of successful launch and rocket landing.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 145 ⁘ We're 'Star Bound' with a guide to America's space program

Supermassive black holes in 'little red dot' galaxies are 1,000 times larger than they should be, and astronomers don't know why