SpaceX launches 1,000th Starlink satellite of the year

Space company completes Falcon 9 mission of June, surpassing milestone of 1,000 Starlinks launched this year.

SpaceX has sent 20 Starlink satellites Sunday on board its Falcon 9 rocket, successfully completing the mission for June.

The rocket was launched from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The mission deployed the 1,000th Starlink satellite of 2024, bringing the total in orbit to over 6,600, providing high-speed internet to 79 countries worldwide, AmericaSpace reported.

“Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on Of Course I Still Love You droneship,” said SpaceX on X adding: “Deployment (of) 20 Starlink satellites confirmed. Falcon 9 delivers 20 Starlink satellites to orbit from California.”

Read: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch lights up Southern California sky with Starlink mission

According to a report by the daily US space agency AmericaSpace, this event marked B1078's 11th flight and the fastest turnaround yet, at only 26 days; following a successful eight-minute ascent, the Starlink stack separated and is now operational.

The B1078 booster, on its 11th flight in just over a year, lifted off at 1.15 p.m. EDT (1715GMT) despite initial weather concerns that predicted only a 50-50 chance of favorable conditions.

“All systems looking good,” posted SpaceX, adding: “Weather is currently 70-percent favorable.”

SpaceX also noted the downsized V2 Mini Starlinks have offered increased bandwidth.

“Satellites with Direct-to-Cell capabilities enable seamless access to data without phone modifications or special apps, providing peace of mind across land, lakes, and coastal water,” it added.

SpaceX has been deploying “Direct-to-Cell” Starlinks since January 2024, enabling global texting, calling, and browsing without hardware changes, the US space news agency noted.

SpaceX also highlighted upcoming missions, including a Starlink launch with Direct-to-Cell satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and the first Falcon Heavy launch of 2024 carrying NOAA's GOES-U weather satellite.