Falcon 9 lifts off, carrying 60 Starlink satellites - the first operational batch. This was the fourth flight for this booster, which is why it looks so dang dirty. Over the coming months, SpaceX will continue launching more, until there are enough to offer global internet coverage through receivers the size of a pizza box, as they put it.
This launch of the Atlas V 551 was awesome. That thing leaped off the pad! I watched from the beach near my apartment in Cocoa Beach and got to meet some fellow Tennesseans from Chattanooga who had never seen a launch before. They were on their way to Miami to get on a cruise and heard there was a launch, so they got a room. That’s so cool to me. And as I often tell tourists who just happen to be here during a launch, they won the vacation lottery! Millions of people pass through here every year, and only a small percentage get to witness a launch. I love getting to see people’s excitement when they see a launch for the first time!
