SpaceX Falcon 9 launches 53 Starlink internet satellites to orbit

On Sunday, July 24, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket launched 53 Starlink internet satellites to orbit, completing the company's sixth mission of this month and the 33rd launch of this year.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 9:38 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a few minutes, the rocket's first stage landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship.

Deployment of 53 Starlink satellites confirmed – completing SpaceX's sixth mission this month!

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 24, 2022

According to the company, this was the eighth flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, and now three Starlink missions.

For the unversed, Starlink is a constellation of internet satellites that provides high-speed, low-latency broadband internet across the world. The internet relay satellites enable video calls, online gaming, streaming, and other high data rate activities that historically have not been possible with satellite internet - with download speeds between 100 Mb/s and 200 Mb/s and latency as low as 20ms in most locations, according to the company.

Starlink is available in 36 countries around the world.