60 Starlink satellites successfully launched by SpaceX

SpaceX's growing 'mega constellation' of Starlink satellites got even bigger this afternoon, with the launch of 60 more satellites.

The launch brings the number of Starlink satellites in orbit to around 950.The Starlink constellation is designed to provide a low-latency, broadband internet system to meet the needs of consumers across the globe.

However, astronomers have raised concerns about the mission, and claim the satellites are so bright that they've affected a number of astronomical observations.

In response, SpaceX has started adding a dark sunshade to some of the Starlink satellites to make them less visible in the night sky. The launch was initially scheduled to take place on January 18, but was pushed back due to poor weather conditions. SpaceX said: 'SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, January 20 for its seventeenth Starlink mission, which will launch 60 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center.

As for Starlink, SpaceX is looking to as many as tens of thousands of satellites to populate its broadband-beaming connectivity network. The goal is to operate a global constellation that provides connectivity via orbital satellites handing off connections to one another as they circle the globe — a different approach from current geostationary satellite connectivity, in which few large satellites essentially sit over one part of the Earth and provide connections just to that region.

Elon Musk tweeted earlier this year using a connection provided by a Starlink satellite for the first time, and the company aims to launch service for customers in the U.S. and Canada following six total launches of Starlink satellites like this one, with service expanding globally after a planned 24 similar launches.