SpaceX on Wednesday launched 54 Gen2 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit.
Following the FCC's conditional approval for a second-generation Starlink network, SpaceX this week loaded its Falcon 9 spacecraft with the upgraded satellites, which are set to communicate with a range of existing dishes on the ground.
"This launch marked the first of Starlink's upgraded network," SpaceX says. "Under our new license, we are now able to deploy satellites to new orbits that will add even more capacity to the network. Ultimately, this enables us to add more customers and provide faster service—particularly in areas that are currently over-subscribed."
A Falcon 9 rocket took off at 4:34 a.m. ET on Wednesday from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This marks the 11th launch and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, and now six Starlink missions. The first stage was set to land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Earlier this year, CEO Elon Musk revealed plans for 60 orbital launches in 2022. And while it's usually best to take the billionaire's broadcasts with a grain of salt, this, as Teslarati points out, is the "first time the company has fully hit a public cadence target set by one of its executives."
That's good news for customers, many of whom have experienced decreased Starlink speeds this year as more and more people signed up for the satellite internet service. Second-gen satellites—7,500 of which the FCC has cleared so far for operation—promise to relieve those woes.