Washington, June 16 (QNA) - The US SpaceX successfully launched 24 new Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit.

In a statement, the company said that the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and its first-stage booster successfully returned about 8.5 minutes after launch, landing on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.

The company added that the launch marked its 71st crewed and uncrewed mission since the beginning of 2026, and the 652nd mission in the history of the Falcon 9 rocket family.

The mission, known as (Group 17-54), comes to continue expanding the massive Starlink constellation, which has exceeded 10,600 active satellites, with the aim of enhancing bandwidth efficiency and reducing latency for satellite internet services worldwide.

Starlink is a satellite internet service operated by SpaceX, aimed at providing high-speed internet to users worldwide through a network of thousands of small satellites in low Earth orbit. (QNA)