SpaceX launches new 60 Starlink satellites into orbit

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a new batch of 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit on Wednesday afternoon (April 7) and nailed a landing at sea to top off a successful mission. 

The veteran Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 12:34 p.m. EDT (1634 GMT), marking the company's 10th launch of the year.

"Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying our stack of Starlink satellites to orbit," Jessie Anderson, a SpaceX manufacturing engineer, said during a live webcast of the launch, Space.com reports.

Approximately nine minutes later, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth, touching down on SpaceX's drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You," for its seventh successful landing. 

SpaceX is continuing the rapid launch pace set last year, as the Hawthorne, California-based rocket builder celebrated its 10th launch so far in 2021. The majority of those launches have been SpaceX's own Starlink satellites, as the company inches closer to filling its initial internet constellation of 1,440 broadband satellites.

Though that constellation could eventually be tens of thousands of satellites strong as SpaceX has permission to launch as many as 30,000, with an option for even more.

Forecasters at the 45th Space Wing's Weather Squadron predicted favorable conditions at launch and the weather did not disappoint. It was nothing but blue skies over the space coast today as the Falcon 9 rocket climbed to orbit.