SpaceX launches 27 Starlink satellites to orbit from California, lands rocket at sea (video)
SpaceX launched a stack of Starlink internet satellites to orbit from California and returned the booster to Earth Friday afternoon (March 26).
The Falcon 9 rocket flying the mission, Starlink 11-7, carried a total of 27 satellites to orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base, in California. The SpaceX rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex-4E at 6:11:40 p.m. ET (2211 GMT).
A little more than eight minutes later, the rocket's first-stage booster, B1063, touched down on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You," stationed in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 24th launch and landing for B1063, which has previously flown 15 Starlink missions, including its most recent, a Starlink mission in January.
Booster 1063 launches:
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich | DART | Transporter-7 | Iridium OneWeb | Tranche 0 | NROL-113 | NROL-167 | NROL-149 | 15 Starlink missions
The Falcon 9 upper stage continued to space to deploy the Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) about 60 minutes after liftoff, as planned. SpaceX announced the successful deployment on X.
Those satellites join a megaconstellation of over 7,100 Starlink satellites in LEO, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. Together, the globe-wide orbital mesh offers low-latency, high-speed internet to Starlink customers around the planet.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Buying your kid their first phone? Do these 5 things first
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. For parents, the decision to get your child their first cell phone comes with a lot of questions. There are a handful of logistical hurdles to clear, such as choosing a kid-friendly phone and then making sure they have coverage on one of the best family cell phone just as important is what comes next — setting the ground rules for how your kid uses their new phone and how you plan to enforce them. Guidelines for device usage are crucial for a variety of reasons. They allow you and your child to set and maintain healthy boundaries around issues like screen time, ensuring that phones don't get in the way of homework and other activities or lead to detrimental effects on sleep or mental health. Clear rules also help keep kids safe, protecting their privacy and limiting riskier interactions on social media or in other online spaces. Parents can also help enforce rules governing phone use at school. Dr. Tiffany Munzer, a developmental behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan and ambassador for the American Academy of Pediatrics' Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, notes that parents should first assess their child's or teen's readiness for the responsibility of having a cell phone. For example, you should consider whether your kid has demonstrated that they can be kind and respectful toward others when there's a conflict and that they have both an ability to complete schoolwork independently and a willingness to seek out an adult when needed. Parents should also ensure they are ready to monitor phone use. Once you've decided you and your kid are ready for a phone, here are five things you can do to ease their transition to their first cell phone. Choose the right device Parents can start the rule-setting process well before kids have their first phone in hand, as the device you select helps define boundaries. You don't necessarily need to start with the latest iPhones or Android devices — flip phones and 'dumb' phones allow your child to ease in with basic functions like calling and texting if they're not quite ready for social media and other apps available on smartphones. 'Think critically together about what are the minimum necessary apps to be able to achieve what you might need from a practical standpoint,' Munzer said. Discuss guidelines in advance "Expect and accept the bumps along the way. They're natural parts of learning, not signs of failure." — Jill Murphy, Common Sense Media While you're deciding on a device, you should begin discussing the rules and expectations for phone use with your child. Experts say this conversation should be collaborative, ongoing, and age-specific, as younger kids will have different needs from older teens, and these rules should also be adjusted over time. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that provides guidance on media use for children, has a helpful guide with age-by-age considerations, while the Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health has a list of conversation starters and prompts for parents. 'Expect and accept the bumps along the way,' said Jill Murphy, Common Sense Media's chief content officer: 'They're natural parts of learning, not signs of failure. The key is maintaining open dialogue and adjusting your approach as your child grows or situations change.' Parents should discuss rules for texting, calling, taking photos and videos, downloading and using apps (including games and social media), and posting online. Munzer also recommends that parents discuss their own challenges with device usage and get their child's or teen's input. Create a family media agreement Don't just talk about the rules for phone use and the consequences for breaking said rules — write them down. A family media agreement or family media plan is a contract you can refer back to that helps create transparency, understanding, and accountability. Munzer advises that all family members should be included in this process, as kids and teens are more likely to develop healthy phone behaviors if these are modeled by parents. The agreement may cover topics like screen time limits, privacy guidelines, and in what circumstances parents can or will review device activity — an important consideration for building and maintaining trust with your child. If and when kids do violate guidelines laid out in the agreement, parents should address these concerns promptly and calmly. Help your child understand the purpose of the rules you've set, and use natural consequences that have a logical connection to the violation — for example, limiting certain access to an app rather than taking away the phone. Utilize on-device parental control settings If your child has a smartphone, there are many on-device and third-party parental controls you can employ for everything from limiting screen time and app downloads to monitoring what kids are seeing and sending. On iOS, Screen Time includes settings to restrict explicit content, purchases, and downloads, as well as control access to specific settings and features. On Android, Family Link provides similar parental controls ranging from global and individual app time limits to content filters to device location notifications. The best parental control apps can augment those on-device settings, too. Parents can disable in-app purchases and require approval for new downloads and should also enforce settings to protect your child's privacy and security: Set up device passcodes and biometrics Enable 'Find My Phone' access for trusted contacts Turn on automatic updates and backups Turn on message filters Disable non-essential location sharing permissions (such geolocation for photos) Murphy advises parents to implement all privacy protections available on their child's device and in apps; they should also ensure that any accounts — including social media — are child- or teen-specific. (Accounts for minors typically have built-in restrictions.) Include school device policies School rules for phone use may be different than those at home, but you should consult and incorporate them into your family media agreement. This includes both your child's personal device as well as tablets or computers provided by the school. If the school communicates phone-related concerns or you notice excessive phone use during school hours, address these issues promptly using the guidelines in your plan. Giving your child or teen their first phone is an important step for building healthy media and digital device habits. Thoughtful planning and ongoing communication can help ease this transition for the entire family. More from Tom's Guide Feature phones are now having a 'renaissance' — here's why Ultimate back to school guide 2025: Laptops, Chromebooks, headphones and more Apple launches 5 upgrades to help parents protect kids online
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Firefly Aerospace eyes Japan rocket launches for Asia market
By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) -Firefly Aerospace is exploring an option to launch its Alpha rocket from Japan as the U.S. rocket maker expands its satellite launch services globally, a Japanese company operating a spaceport in the country's northern Hokkaido said on Monday. The plan could make Japan the second offshore launch site - and first in Asia - for Firefly, the Texas-based rival to Elon Musk's market leader SpaceX, which had its Nasdaq debut earlier this month and is preparing for an Alpha launch in Sweden. Space Cotan, operator of the Hokkaido Spaceport located about 820 km (510 mi) northeast of Tokyo, said it and Firefly signed a preliminary agreement to study the feasibility of launching the small-lift rocket Alpha from there. Launching Alpha from Japan "would allow us to serve the larger satellite industry in Asia and add resiliency for U.S. allies with a proven orbital launch vehicle," Adam Oakes, Firefly's vice president of launch, said in a statement published on Space Cotan's website. A feasibility study would be conducted to assess the regulatory hurdles, timeframe and investments for a launch pad for Alpha in Hokkaido, said Space Cotan spokesperson Ryota Ito. The plan would require a space technology safeguards agreement (TSA) between Washington and Tokyo that would allow American rocket launches in Japan, Ito added. The governments last year kicked off the negotiations but have not reached an agreement. A U.S.-Sweden TSA signed in June cleared the path for Firefly's launches from the Arctic. Four of Firefly's six Alpha flights since 2021 have ended in failure, most recently in April. While Japan's national space agency has launched rockets for decades, private rockets are nascent and most Japanese satellite operators rely on foreign options such as SpaceX's Falcon 9 or Rocket Lab's Electron. Previously, U.S. company Virgin Orbit aimed to use Japan's southwest Oita Airport for launches but the plan was scrapped after the firm went bankrupt in 2023. Colorado-based Sierra Space has an ongoing plan to land its spaceplane on Oita beyond 2027. Taiwanese firm TiSpace last month conducted what could be the first foreign launch in Hokkaido, but the suborbital flight failed within a minute. Japan's government is targeting 30 launches of Japanese rockets a year by the early 2030s and subsidises domestic enterprises such as Space One and Toyota-backed Interstellar Technologies.
Digital Trends
4 hours ago
- Digital Trends
How to watch SpaceX launch the mighty Starship on its 10th flight
SpaceX is close to launching its enormous Starship rocket for the 10th time. The spaceflight company recently announced that it's targeting Sunday, August 24, for the highly anticipated launch. Recommended Videos Comprising the upper stage Starship spacecraft and first-stage Super Heavy booster, the rocket will launch from SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas. Once fully operational, NASA and SpaceX hope to use the 121-meter-tall Starship rocket for crew and cargo missions to the moon and possibly even Mars. First up, NASA wants to use a modified version of the spacecraft to return humans to the lunar surface in the Artemis III mission, which is currently set for 2027. But with testing of the Starship ongoing, that date may slip. SpaceX has designed the Starship to be a fully reusable rocket, allowing it to use both the booster and spacecraft for multiple missions, thereby saving massively on mission costs. How to watch SpaceX is targeting 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. ET) on Sunday, August 24, for the 10th Starship launch from the company's Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas. Technical issues or adverse weather conditions could prompt SpaceX to launch later, so be sure to check back here — or SpaceX's X account — for the latest information. The launch will be livestreamed by SpaceX on its X account. What to expect Whether you're there in person or watching online, you'll witness the world's most powerful rocket climbing skyward, generating around 17 million pounds of thrust as the huge rocket leaves the launchpad. SpaceX will livestream the launch and early part of the flight, with cameras attached to both the Super Heavy booster and Starship spacecraft tracking the mission's progress. Unlike some earlier Starship flights, the Super Heavy will not be returning to the launch tower after liftoff. Instead, cameras will capture footage of both parts of the vehicle coming down in their respective splashdown sites. One more thing … SpaceX chief Elon Musk has promised to give an update on the company's plans for the Starship shortly before the 10th flight takes place. The event will likely involve Musk speaking from a stage at Starbase. We'll update here when SpaceX confirms a start time for the event.
