[RECORD-BREAKING] SpaceX Successfully Launched 60 StarLink Satellites

On Jan. 6, SpaceX, a private spaceflight company, made a record-breaking satellite launched in 2020.

An exact number of 60 StarLink internet satellites were successfully launched at 9:19 p.m. EST (0219 GMT Tuesday). This is SpaceX's very first satellite launch in the year 2020, the second time for them to use Falcon-9 early stage booster, and StarLink's third time to liftoff internet satellites on the space.

The said launching happened at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, making SpaceX as the main operator of the largest satellite fleet in the year 2020.

Successful StarLink Mission Liftoff

"Liftoff! Go, Starlink, go Falcon [on the] Space Force inaugural launch," a SpaceX launch commentator said.

Prior to the said successful launched, StarLink had their backup plan-- if 60 StarLink Satellites' mission flopped-- that is aimed to be scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 8:57 p.m. EST, or 1:57 UTC on Jan. 8. However, since everything went according to plan, and also the first time for U.S. Space Force to witness the said launching-- SpaceX kicked off its 2020 with StarLink Mission that was deployed at an altitude of 290 km.

After Falcon 9 successfully lifted off from the base, SpaceX's first stage landed on "Of Course I Still Love You" droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Approximately 45 minutes after the liftoff, SpaceX's fairing recovery vessel, "Ms. Tree," attempted to recover a payload fairing half with the vessel-- however, failed to achieve it, according to SpaceX officials.

"We didn't catch it this time. We got really close," SpaceX Starlink satellite engineer Laurel Lyons said during live commentary. "But we're going to keep on trying again."

What Will Happen After the Successful Launched?

Since internet services are one of the main demands in today's generation, StarLink decided to invest and provide a cheaper and wider scope of internet services around the globe through the launching of the 60 internet satellites on space.

The launch was part of SpaceX's plan to create a constellation of small broadband satellites that were aimed to allow wider internet coverage around the world, specifically in the parts of the United States and Canada-- after half a dozen more launches and 24 more additional launches soon for global coverage.

"Starlink will provide fast, reliable internet to locations where access has been unreliable, expensive, or completely unavailable," the company wrote in its Starlink mission description.

As furthered explained by the company, users on the ground will also have more accessibility with the internet since they only need small medium or terminals even gadgets smaller to laptop to have availed the faster internet services from the company.

Other Spaceflight Companies Target Wider Internet Coverage

Not only SpaceX targets to be the main operator of wider internet coverage for all, companies like OneWeb, Telesat, and Amazon also aim to build similar satellite constellations missions in 2020.

In fact, OneWeb already started their launched in 2019 with their first set of six internet satellites. However, StarLink and SpaceX still seemed to be having the top spot with 180 satellite constellations that were set to orbit in 2020.

At the end of the month, another 60 StarLink satellites are set to be launched to start their services sometime this year.

ALSO READ: SpaceX Brings Internet to Rural Communities in Asian Region