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SpaceX launches rocket with 54 satellites for Starlink network

The liftoff took place at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:32 ET

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

© USA TODAY NETWORK via Reuters Connect

NEW YORK, December 18. /TASS/. The US company SpaceX on Saturday launched a Falcon 9 rocket with another cluster of 54 satellites for its orbital Starlink network, according to a broadcast on the company’s website.

The liftoff took place at Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 4:32 ET (00:32 Moscow time).

The reusable first-stage booster for the rocket had previously been used 14 times. About 9 minutes after the launch, its first stage successfully descended to a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. A few minutes later, the company reported that the deployment of all 54 satellites has been confirmed.

The Starlink constellation of satellites, each weighing up to 260 kilograms, is meant to provide Internet access. SpaceX estimates that the deployment of a total of 11,000 satellites will cost $10 billion. It has launched more than 3,200 Starlink satellites since May 2019.

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Ukraine files charges in absentia against Russian army deputy general staff chief

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Press review: Putin outlines Russia's future goals and Tehran faces energy blackout riots

Top stories from the Russian press on Friday, December 20th

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Russia forgives Somalia's Soviet-era debt

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