SpaceX sent 60 compact satellites into low Earth orbit on Thursday, livestreaming the event on Twitter. Video footage showed the rocket's boosters blazing a furious trail through the sky, to station the satellites as part of a constellation of networked devices known as Starlink.
SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk plans to ultimately launch thousands of these compact flat-panel satellites to provide global internet service. Each spacecraft weighs just 260 kilograms.
The Starlinks are initially placed in a relatively low orbit of 290 kilometre, easily visible as a long, strung-out cluster parading through the night sky.
Over a few months, krypton-powered thrusters raise the satellites to a 550km orbit.
The service may start later this year in the northern US and Canada, then expand to the world's most populated areas after 24 launches.
