SpaceX launch 60 satellites into orbit

SpaceX have just made history by launching 60 satellites into orbit giving them ownership of the largest commercial satellite constellation.

The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Florida on 6th January delivering the satellites into an eventual orbit of 550 km with the launch vehicle then returning to earth and eventually being picked up in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the fourth successful trip for the Falcon rocket.

https://spacenews.com/spacex-becomes-operator-of-worlds-largest-commercial-satellite-constellation-with-starlink-launch/

This launch is part of the SpaceX Starlink satellite constellation, which includes another 120 that were launched in May and November last year. SpaceX have permission to launch 12,000 satellites, which will be used to provide inexpensive internet to customers around the world. To put this figure into context there are currently only 2,000 operational satellites circling the earth and since the beginning of the Space Age we have only placed 9,000 such objects into orbit.