Washington, November 16 (QNA) - The American space-technology company SpaceX conducted a dual-launch operation this week, dispatching two batches of Starlink Internet-satellites aboard two Falcon 9 rockets in the same launch window.

In a statement, the company said the first Falcon 9 took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying 29 satellites into low Earth orbit. The first-stage booster successfully landed on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff.

Within the same launch window, a second Falcon 9 launched a further batch of 29 satellites. Its first-stage booster also achieved a successful drone-ship landing, while the upper stage deployed the satellites on schedule.

These missions advance the Starlink network, a vast satellite constellation aiming to provide global Internet coverage; currently, thousands of satellites are already in orbit. SpaceX said such launches help maintain the constellation's frequent and rapid replenishment.

The company described the flights as part of a "record pace" of Falcon 9 launches this year as it scales up capacity and reduces turnaround time between missions. (QNA)