SpaceX launches 60 more Starlink satellites, claims over 500,000 service pre-orders so far
SpaceX has launched 60 more of its Starlink internet broadband satellites - on Star Wars Day," no less, and only five days after it launched the last batch. The company has now delivered 420 Starlink satellites since the beginning of March, a sum that the SpaceX CEO and founder must not be aware of because he definitely would've tweeted about it by now if he was.
This launch took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 3:01 PM ET (12:01 PM PT), and used a re-used Falcon 9 booster that has flown eight times previously. That booster also landed back on SpaceX's floating drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, tying the record for SpaceX's reusable flight program in terms of flying resumed boosters, which it just set in March. This is the company's 115th Falcon 9 launch so far.
SpaceX also shared updated figures around its Starlink consumer hardware, which is used to transmit and receive signals from the constellation for broadband service. The company has received over half a million" pre-order reservations for its service so far, which includes advance deposits on the hardware.
That strong demand helps explain why there appears to be such a significant backlog in terms of fulfilling orders for Starlink. Customers looking to use the service can sign up via SpaceX's Starlink website, and place a preorder for the kit, which induces the Starlink receiver, a router, power supplies and mounting hardware for your home.
The service is available to beta customers in six countries thus far, including Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Mexico, the U.S. and Canada, but the goal is to continue to expand coverage to achieve near-global reach by the end of 2021 in terms of service availability, with a number of additional launches planned throughout the rest of the year.
As launch market matures, space opportunities on the ground take off