SpaceX Rocket Launches Starlink Fleet, Two Rideshare Satellites

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a new fleet of Starlink internet satellites into orbit, alongside two rideshare satellites on May 15, before sticking a stunning landing at sea.
The veteran Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center here in Florida at 6:56 p.m. EDT (2056 GMT), marking the company's 15th launch of the year. It also marked the eighth flight for this particular Falcon 9, Space.com reported.
The successful liftoff marked the third time SpaceX launched one of its 229-foot-tall (70 meters) workhorse Falcon 9 rockets within as many weeks, as the company works to expand its burgeoning broadband constellation. 
Approximately nine minutes after liftoff, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth, touching down on SpaceX's drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You," for an eighth successful landing. A camera aboard the rocket stage captured a spectacular video of the entire descent back to Earth.
It was a windy day on the space coast but blue skies over the launch pad made for quite the show. Thanks to the few scattered clouds hanging in the sky, the roar of the Falcon seemed louder as it climbed to orbit to this observer.
SpaceX has been taking advantage of its fleet of flight-proven boosters, as all of its missions so far in 2021 have flown on a reused rocket, with 12 of those missions carrying Starlink satellites. 
The flight, called Starlink 27, is a bit unique in that SpaceX is sharing the payload fairing with paying customers. Tucked alongside a stack of 52 Starlink satellites are two additional passengers: a nanosatellite for Tyvak and a radar satellite for Capella Space.