SpaceX launched a batch of 26 Starlink satellites from California on Friday, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. With this mission, the company has now launched more than 1,000 of its broadband internet satellites this year.

Project Kuiper's constellation aims to total more than 3,600 satellites by 2028. SpaceX's Starlink, which has already had more than 8,500 satellites launched since 2019, has nearly 6,700 that remain operational in orbit, according to statistics maintained by astronomer Jonathan McDowell.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 bolted off the pad at 12:38 p.m. at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying 28 Starlink satellites.