SpaceX launches batch of Starlink satellites from California

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has blasted off from California to put 50 more satellites into orbit for the Starlink internet constellation

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Friday and carried 50 more satellites into orbit for the Starlink internet constellation.

A SpaceX webcast showed the rocket’s upper stage deploying the satellites a little over an hour after the 9:12 a.m. liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

The satellites will use their own thrusters to move into their operational orbits over a period of weeks.

The first stage successfully landed on a “droneship” in the Pacific Ocean. It was the fourth successful launch and landing of the reusable booster.