The satellites released into lower Earth orbit on Thursday will enable Internet users around the world to connect online to remote and far-flung regions of Earth. For SpaceX, the successful launch helps it turn the page after a test flight failure of its Starship launch last month.
SpaceX's Starship, the most powerful rocket ever built, exploded after the Super Heavy booster carrying it failed to separate from the second stage. The Starship project, which eventually sent crews and cargo to the moon and beyond, is currently grounded as an investigation into the explosion continues.
The space company saw continued success with the safe return of the Falcon 9 first stage onto the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, 8 minutes after the initial liftoff. The return and reuse of the first stage of space rockets was unheard of before SpaceX crafted and improved the recapture of the rocket section.
It marked the seventh time the first-stage booster used in Thursday's flight was launched and safely returned.
SpaceX's founder Elon Musk retweeted the successful launches and landing Thursday morning from the company's Twitter page.
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