SpaceX successfully launched its second set of Starlink satellites today (November 14th) in an incredible display of efficiency, according to Space.com. At 8:21 am EST, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites took out from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after a morning launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
This doubleheader of launches shows a new commitment by SpaceX to build up the Starlink satellite constellation. The constellation should then provide high-speed internet to remote and underserved areas around the world.
A weathered booster on its 18th launch, the first stage of the Falcon 9 landed well on the SpaceX droneship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean. This reusable booster has played a crucial role in numerous Starlink missions.
These 24 join the constellation, so it will continue to increase in numbers, already having exceeded 6,560 active satellites. Mission control of the global internet by SpaceX is slowly within reach with time.
What is Just Read the Instructions (JRTI)?
According to space-offshore.com, JRTI is a SpaceX autonomous spaceport droneship (ASDS) operating out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The droneship is built upon a modified barge-Marmac 303-and is named after a spacecraft of the same name from the novel ‘The Player of Games’, from the Culture series of books by author Iain M. Banks.
The JRTI droneship is a modified barge that is outfitted with a large landing platform, station-keeping thrusters, and other equipment to allow SpaceX to land Falcon boosters at sea on high-velocity missions that cannot carry enough fuel to allow for a return-to-launch-site landing.