SpaceX launches batch of Starlink satellites from California

VANDENBERG SPACE FORCE BASE, Calif. (AP) — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket has blasted off from California to put 50 more satellites into orbit for the Starlink internet constellation. The rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:12 a.m. and its upper stage deployed the satellites about an hour later. The first stage successfully returned from space and landed on a “droneship” in the Pacific Ocean. It was the fourth successful launch and landing of the reusable booster. Starlink is a space-based system that SpaceX has been building for years to bring internet access to underserved areas of the world.