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SpaceX' Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites flies past full moon | Video
Among the 21 satellites launched, 13 feature Direct to Cell capabilities aimed at enhancing connectivity in remote areas.
In a spectacular sight, a Falcon 9 rocket of Elon Musk’s Space X flew past the full moon on Saturday. The launch of the rocket, which took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, made for a beautiful sight for people especially in Florida.
People across the state gathered to witness the spectacle and captured it. Pictures and videos of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink satellites have flooded social media.
In a video, the rocket is seen flying past the full moon, leaving behind a string of smoke.
Another picture captured by photographer John Krauss shows a breathing view of the flying rocket juxtaposing against the full moon. Captioning the photo, Krauss wrote, “Falcon 9 transits the 100% full Moon during tonight’s 8:53:30pm ET launch of 21 Starlink satellites from Florida”.
About the launch
The Falcon 9, SpaceX’s flagship rocket, was launched on Saturday at 8:53 pm ET and carried 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Out of the 21 satellites launched, 13 were equipped with Direct to Cell capabilities.
Starlink says that satellites with Direct to Cell capabilities enable connectivity in remote regions and have an advanced eNodeB modem onboard that acts like a cellphone tower in space, allowing network integration similar to a standard roaming partner.
Here is the video of the launch-
According to SpaceX, this was the 10th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-8, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, IM-2, and now five Starlink missions.
The launch was reportedly delayed multiple times before Saturday with no official explanation. The launch was SpaceX’s 400th overall mission with a flight, marking a significant milestone.
