SpaceX sent another batch of 23 Starlink satellites for their orbital-based Internet service tonight from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 booster. The mission was designated Starlink 6-37, part of Group 6 of Starlink satellites providing global Internet connectivity to the company’s customers.

Liftoff was shortly after 8:52 pm EST from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Tonight’s re-useable booster was B1071 making its 12th flight. Roughly eight and a half minutes after liftoff, B1071 touched down safely near the Bahamas on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

The second stage continued to carry the company’s payload to orbit, which it achieved successfully at about the same time the first stage booster was touching down. Shortly afterward, the Starlink satellites were deployed and the launch was deemed a success by mission managers.

Mission Trajectory

Tonight’s launch was to the southeast, as has been customary with other launches of the Group 6 batch of Starlink satellites.

16th Flight for Booster B-1076

This was the 12th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission is B1071. The booster previously launched SES-22, ispace’s HAKUTO-R Mission 1, Hispasat Amazonas Nexus mission, CRS-27, and seven Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of the Bahamas.

The booster will be returned to Port Canaveral and then transferred to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center for inspection and ostensibly refurbishment for another flight on a future mission.

Next Launch

Axiom-3, a crewed launch planned to ferry four astronauts to the International Space Station aboard a Falcon 9.

The mission will be the first to carry and all-European crew to the International Space Station. It will be the third crewed mission to the International Space Station coordinated by Axiom Space.

Ax-3 will be the first all-European commercial astronaut mission to the ISS. It will also be the first commercial spaceflight mission made up of government and European Space Agency-sponsored astronauts flying on behalf of their nation.

The launch date is NET Wednesday January 17, 2024 at 5:11 PM EST from Pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center.