SpaceX launches 24 more of its broadband internet relay units into space.

For the third time this month and 12th time since the start of the year, SpaceX has expanded its Starlink network with a new batch of low Earth orbit satellites. On Wednesday (Feb. 11), the commercial spaceflight company sent 24 more of its broadband internet relay units into space. The launch, on a Falcon 9 rocket, began at 12:11 p.m. EST (1711 GMT or 9:11 a.m. PDT local time) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. About an hour later, SpaceX confirmed the latest additions (Group 17-34) to its 9,600+ megaconstellation had been successfully deployed. Previous Booster B1100 launches NROL-105 | 1 Starlink mission The flight's first-stage booster, B1100, performed as expected. It completed its third launch with a propulsive landing on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" positioned in the Pacific Ocean. The Starlink service offers access to internet where connectively is sparse or nonexistent. It also powers direct cell-to-satellite calls on select providers and in-flight wifi on some airlines, including United, which advertised the offering during this past Sunday's Super Bowl LX. Editor's note: The original version of this story reported that today's launch lofted 25 Starlink satellites. The correct number is 24, according to SpaceX. Get the Space.com Newsletter Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors collectSPACE.com Editor, Space.com Contributor Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.

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