Space X launches Falcon 9 rocket from San Diego: What is the purpose of the Starlink mission?

From San Diego, Space X launched the Falcon 9 rocket from San Diego on 18 March, and what a sight it was.

Specs on the Falcon 9

The mission was part of Space X’s Starlink, which uses satellites to provide users on the ground with the internet. The Falcon 9 rocket was employed, which the company says can be “for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit.” The rocket is 229.6 ft tall and weighs over 1.2 million pounds. Very little information was provided by the company regarding the launch.

What was the goal of the mission?

On Space X’s website, the company said that it aimed to launch “Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit.” Unlike many famous rocket launches in the US in Texas or Florida, Space X launched the Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Images of the rocket reaching the ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ drone over the Pacific Ocean were captured and posted on X, which is also owned by billionaire Elon Musk.

What is Starlink?

In addition to building spacecraft for NASA and their own private ventures, Space X has developed Starlink, which provides internet to customers using satellites instead of underground cables. This technology is useful in rural and remote areas where internet cables have not been installed. For a short time, Elon Musk had provided internet to the people of Ukraine through Starlink, with Space X fronting the bill. However, a contract for the internet service is now being paid to Space X by the US Department of Defense. Additionally, Musk has refused to continue offering connections in areas currently under Russian control, including Crimea over fears of escalating the conflict, reported The Guardian at the time. Ukraine’s defense forces have said that the cutting off of satellite internet in these areas inhibits their ability to perform on the battlefield. Still, no changes to the company’s stance have been made this far.