SpaceX on Thursday launched the Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 49 Starlink satellites, from the Kennedy Space Center as planned.

A video of the launch has been uploaded on Youtube:

The rocket’s first stage returned to earth and touched down on the deck of SpaceX’s drone ship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ approximately nine minutes after the liftoff. 

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“Falcon 9 has successfully lifted off from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center, carrying our stack of 49 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit,” SpaceX engineer Jessie Anderson said during the launch broadcast. 

SpaceX confirmed the successful deployment of the 49 Starlink satellites via Twitter about 1 hour, 20 minutes after liftoff.

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In 2021, the private spaceflight company set a new record for most launches in a year at 31. The company also launched a total of 12 astronauts on three Crew Dragon missions, including four private citizens who flew as part of the Inspiration4 mission, according to Space.com.

The company, founded by the business magnate Elon Musk, is also expected to start its third dedicated rideshare mission, aimed to launch several small satellites in orbit on January 13.

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Space X will also send a radar reconnaissance satellite, called COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG 2), into space for an Italian space agency, on January 24.