SpaceX launched the Starlink 6-69 mission to low-Earth orbit late this afternoon, and by so doing completed its second launch from the Eastern Range (Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center) in less than five hours. Starlink 6-69 launched aboard Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at 4:28 PM EST, a mere four hours and six minutes after SpaceX launched Koreasat 6A from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Both launches were successes.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Around 8.5 minutes after liftoff, Booster B1080 touched down safely on the company’s drone ship ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’ to complete its twelfth mission successfully, while the second stage and payload continued to low Earth orbit. About the same time that the booster landed, the initial orbit for the payload was achieved, with a short orbit rounding burn just before payload deployment.
‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ will now return with B0180 to Port Canaveral, where the booster will be offloaded, returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center where it will be inspected and presumably begin the process of it being prepared for its next mission,
At 5:33 PM EDT, SpaceX confirmed a successful deployment of the payload of Starlink satellites and a successful end to the flight.
Launch Replay
By The Numbers
- 113th SpaceX launch this year
- 426th SpaceX launch all time
- 40th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch
- 369th Falcon Family Booster landing
- 84th landing on A Shortfall Of Gravitas
- 53rd launch from Space Launch Complex 40 this year
Next Launch
The next launch from the Eastern Range is a near carbon copy of today’s Starlink 6-69 flight. Starlink 6-68 is slated to launch from SLC-40 on Thursday with the launch window opening at 5:33 AM EST and extending to 9:33 AM the same day. The payload is another group of Starlink satellites to join SpaceX’s constellation of data satellites.
- Date: NET November 14, 2024
- Organization: SpaceX / NASA
- Mission: Starlink 6-68
- Rocket: Falcon 9
- Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral
- Launch Window: 5:33 AM – 9:33 AM EST
- 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
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville