SpaceX and Falcon 9 lofted another twenty Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral into low Earth orbit tonight. Liftoff was at 5:47 PM EDT.
Around 8.5 minutes after liftoff, Booster B1073 touched down safely on the company’s drone ship ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’ to complete its eighteenth mission successfully, while the second stage and payload continued to Earth orbit.
At 6:56 PM EDT, SpaceX confirmed a successful deployment of the payload and noted that this was their 100th successful Falcon flight of the year. (The number includes Falcon Heavy) That record is notable, given that all other nations plus other launch providers in the US have only collectively launched 95 other missions.
Launch Replay
By The Numbers
- Starlink 6-61 is the 104th SpaceX launch this year and the 416th for the company all time.
- Tonight launch was the 49th from SLC-40 this year.
- It was the 360th Falcon Family Booster landing.
- Starlink 6-61 was the 18th flight for Booster B-1073.
- It was the 980th launch from Cape Canaveral.
Next Launch
SpaceX is scheduled to launch another set of Starlink satellites aboard a Falcon 9 early on Saturday evening from Space Launch Complex 40.
- Date: NET October 26, 2024
- Organization: SpaceX
- Mission: Starlink Group 10-8
- Rocket: Falcon 9
- Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: 5:47 – 9:47 PM EDT
- Payload: Starlink satellites
Keep in mind that launch dates and times change often. Launch attempts can be scrubbed anytime due to weather, technical reasons, or range conditions.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville