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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - We have liftoff!
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket launching from Cape Canaveral on Saturday morning, after they were forced to scrub an earlier launch because of a camera problem.
“At T plus 40 seconds into liftoff, Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, carrying our StarLink payload out into space,” said a SpaceX engineer.
It was the 15th mission to launch Starlink satellites into orbit. The project's goal is to put thousands of small satellites in orbit around the earth. These will provide wireless high-speed internet to remote places around the world, where going online is either unreliable, expensive, or unavailable.
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A rural Texas school district recently signed-up to join the system, along with dozens of homes in the district.
“Starting in 2021, Starlink will connect up to 45 households in the community as part of the pilot program, as the network capabilities continue to grow, we'll then expand service to an additional 90 households in the school district,” a SpaceX Engineer said.
Global Starlink coverage is set for next year. People watching the launch said it was great to see more rocket launches from the US.
“I was in awe. Once the rocket went up and the sound came over, it just hit, you know? It rumbled in your body. It was awesome! I was excited,” said Barbara Moseler.
“It's probably hundreds of thousands of new jobs all over America,” said Richard Cook, “so let's get her done!”
Shortly after getting into orbit the rocket's booster unit separated and landed itself on a SpaceX drone ship, so it can be used again.
The company's first batch of Starlink satellites was sent into orbit on May 23rd, 2019.
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