Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
SpaceX launched another set of Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit today from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 aboard a Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 2:11 PM ET (1911 UTC) after several pushbacks in the window, presumably due to windy weather.
Today’s launch was the 997th orbital launch from Cape Canaveral.
Photo: Michael Lynch, Talk of Titusville
The flight was nominal, and Booster B1067, the most experienced booster in SpaceX’s fleet, completed its 25th successful mission when it touched down offshore near The Bahamas on ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions.’
Around 8.2 minutes after liftoff, Booster B1077 successfully completed its 17th mission when it touched down offshore on ASDS ‘Just Read The Instructions’, which was positioned offshore near The Bahamas. Previously, B1067 launched previously CRS-22, CRS-25, Crew-3, Crew-4, TelkomSat-113BT, Turksat-5B, Koreasat-6A, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F2, Galileo L13, mPOWER-A, PSN MFS, and 13 Starlink missions.
JRTI will now return to Port Canaveral, where the booster will be offloaded and returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center for inspection and any needed refurbishment prior to its next flight.
At 8:11 into flight, Falcon 9’s second stage and the Starlink payload achieved their initial elliptical orbit.
Launch Replay
Payload
24 Starlink Mini v2 satellites, which will join Group 6 of Starlink’s orbital Internet connectivity constellation. Currently, there are over 6,900 Starlink satellites in orbit, according to Dr. Jonathon McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Photo: SpaceX
Next Launch
If — and it is a big if — seas calm down offshore in the Atlantic, Blue Origin will attempt the maiden voyage of its New Glenn rocket.
- Date: NET January 13, 2025
- Organization: Blue Origin
- Mission: NG-1
- Rocket: New Glenn
- Launch Site: LC-36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: 01:00 – 04:00 EST (0600-0900 UTC)
- Payload: Blue Ring Pathfinder