SpaceX puts up 60 internet satellites

The SpaceX company has begun the roll-out of its orbiting broadband system.

A Falcon-9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida late on Thursday, packed with 60 satellites capable of giving users on the ground high-speed connections to the internet.

SpaceX is one of several commercial outfits with permission to fly an internet mega-constellation. Others include the UK-based start-up OneWeb, which began its roll-out in February with six operational spacecraft.

Online retailer Amazon also has ambitions in this market. It's working on a 3,200-satellite proposal known as Project Kuiper.

SpaceX has kept secret much of the development activity on its multi-billion-dollar broadband plan. Each satellite weighs 227kg, has multiple high-throughput antennas and a single solar array, the SpaceX CEO explained in a briefing last week. Click here to read more.