Thu Nov 14 15:34:40 UTC 2024: ## SpaceX Doubles Down on Starlink with Two Launches in One Day
**CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA** – SpaceX kicked off a busy Monday with two successful launches of its Starlink internet satellites, demonstrating the company’s commitment to expanding its global internet network.
Early this morning, a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites soared into space from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Just hours later, a second Falcon 9 launched another 24 satellites from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
This back-to-back launch strategy highlights SpaceX’s rapid expansion of its Starlink constellation, aiming to provide high-speed internet access to remote and underserved communities around the world.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket used in the Florida launch, a seasoned veteran on its 18th mission, successfully landed on the SpaceX droneship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean. This reusable booster has been a key player in numerous Starlink missions.
With these additions, the Starlink constellation now boasts over 6,560 active satellites, steadily inching closer to SpaceX’s goal of achieving global internet coverage.
**About “Just Read the Instructions”**
“Just Read the Instructions” (JRTI), an autonomous spaceport droneship (ASDS), is a modified barge stationed in Port Canaveral, Florida. Its unique design features a large landing platform, station-keeping thrusters, and other essential equipment to enable SpaceX to land Falcon boosters at sea. This capability is particularly crucial for missions with high-velocity trajectories that require more fuel for landing, rendering a return-to-launch-site landing impractical.
The droneship’s name, inspired by a spacecraft from the “Culture” series by Iain M. Banks, embodies SpaceX’s innovative and forward-thinking approach to space exploration.
First Piper 