SpaceX launch sends 22 new Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit
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A timed exposure shows a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flying into a low deck of clouds after launching from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 21 in a mission nearly identical to Saturday's successful launch from the Vandenberg Space Force Station in California. (Photo Credit: Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo)
Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster rocket successfully launched Saturday to deploy 22 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit Saturday evening from the Space Force Base in Vandenberg, Calif.
The launch proceeded without any problems at 5:38 p.m. PST and reached a maximum speed of 8,000 mph before the primary rocket engine cut off and separated from its payload, which continued its journey with the help of the vacuum of space.
The Falcon 9 booster rocket reached a maximum altitude of about 120 miles above Earth before making its return to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere with an assist from an entry burn to slow its approach.
A landing burn used a single Merlin rocket engine to enable the rocket land on an autonomous recovery vessel about 8 minutes and 20 seconds after the rocket's launch.
The payload continued on its journey and exceeded 27,000 mph until its eventual deployment in low-Earth orbit.
The rocket required 1 million pounds of propellant to launch and complete its mission and was recovered by the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
It was the 11th successful launch and recovery for the Falcon 9 first-stage rocket booster used for the mission.
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