In the past few hours, a Falcon 9 rocket from the US space company SpaceX has put 49 Starlink satellites into orbit for internet service. Also on board is a spacecraft from the Italian company D-Orbit which carries into space an experimental transporter capable of burning in the atmosphere so as not to produce space junk. The ashes of some cremated human beings from various parts of the world will then be scattered throughout the cosmos.

The take-off of the rocket took place at 17:15 Italian time on January 31 from the Californian base of Vandenberg. The "Eclectic Elena" spacecraft, produced by the same Italian company, separated from the rocket about 57 minutes after launch, followed 20 minutes later by the detachment of the Starlink satellites, a company that offers global internet connection services founded by Elon Musk.

The Italian vehicle "Eclectic Elena" has carried several scientific experiments into orbit. These also include an on-board computer developed by researchers and students of the Lausanne Polytechnic (Epfl, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), as well as a German-made sail that will be deployed at the end of the mission to accelerate re-entry into the atmosphere. The experiments will take place in low Earth orbit.