SpaceX Successfully Launches 48 Additional Starlink Satellites

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched yesterday, March 9, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch was the 40th Starlink mission and placed 48 Starlink satellites into orbit. SpaceX launch director Julia Black jokingly called the rocket the “American broomstick,” mocking Russian space agency head Dmitry Rogozin.

Rogozin had previously stated on Russia’s state television, “Let them fly on something else, their broomsticks, I dont know what.” he made that comment as Russia announced they would no longer ship rocket engines to the US.

While some US companies rely on Russian-made engines for their rockets, SpaceX builds its engines in the US. US astronauts and astronauts from other countries used to rely on Russia to get to and from the ISS.

However, SpaceX and other companies in the US are now able to place astronauts in orbit and onto the ISS from American launch sites. The launch on Wednesday was designated Starlink 4-10, and its first stage rocket was successfully landed on a drone ship in the ocean.