SpaceX continues to deploy additional Starlink satellites, maintaining its momentum as it heads into 2024.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Starlink satellites on Mission 12-11 from Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday. Photo by Joe Marino/UPI

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On Wednesday, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, successfully deploying Starlink satellites as part of Mission 12-11. Image courtesy of Joe Marino/UPI | License Photo.

Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Coming off a record-setting 2024, SpaceX continued an aggressive launching schedule with the liftoff Wednesday morning of a Falcon 9 rocket that carried 21 Starlink satellites into lower-Earth orbit.

The launch from Kennedy Space Center took place at 10:27 a.m. EST with a first-stage booster making its third trip. The booster landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean about eight minutes after liftoff.

According to SpaceX, 13 of the newly launched satellites are equipped with direct-to-cell technology.

Starlink is the largest satellite constellation ever deployed, designed to make Internet service available globally regardless of how remote the designation. According to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, there are more than 6,850 active Starlink satellites orbiting Earth currently.

SpaceX ended 2024 with 134 successful launches, a new record after just missing 100 launches in 2023.

SpaceX successfully sends 21 Starlink satellites into orbit.

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On January 8, 2025, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifts off from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying a payload of Starlink satellites. Photo credit: Joe Marino/UPI | Licensed Image.