SpaceX launched the Thuraya-4 satellite for Yahsat / Space 42 this evening from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Liftoff was at 8:27 PM EST (0027 UTC) on a cool evening on the Space Coast.
Tonight’s launch was the first from the Eastern Range in 2025 in what is expected to be another record year for launches from the combined facilities of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center.
Around 8.25 minutes after lifting off, Booster B1073 completed its 20th mission when it touched down on ASDS ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’, which was stationed offshore downrange. ASOG and B1073 will now return to Port Canaveral for offloading and preparation for B1073’s next flight.
The second stage and payload achieved its initial orbit at about eight minutes into the flight, and that orbit was rounded about twenty-eight minutes later, with a successful payload deployment shortly after the 35th minute of the mission.
Thuraya 4-NGS is a communication satellite built by Airbus UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company P.J.S.C. (Yahsat). It is built on the all-electric Airbus Eurostar-Neo Platform and will incorporate a large 12-meter L-band antenna and a payload capable of processing providing 3200 channels over a large number of spot beams.
Thuraya is the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company P.J.S.C. (Yahsat), a public company and subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company. Established in 1997, Thuraya is the UAE’s first home-grown satellite operator.
Thuraya 4 rendering, released by Yahsat.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
SpaceX is planning to launch Starlink 6-71 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center NET Monday, January 6, 2025. The launch window opens at 11:44 AM EST (1644 UTC) and closes at 4:15 PM (2115 UTC) the same day.
Date: NET January 6, 2025
Organization: SpaceX
Mission: Starlink 6-71
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Window: 11:43 AM – 4:15 PM EST
Payload: Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s ISP constellation.
A relatively large group of spectators lined the banks of the Indian River in Titusville to view tonight’s launch. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX Falcon 9 launching BlueBird 1-5 on September 12, 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
2025 is here, and it won’t take long for the Eastern Range to open its new year for the facility: SpaceX plans to launch the Thuraya 4-NGS satellite for UAE based Yahsat on Friday evening, while preparations for Blue Origin to the fly New Glenn on its maiden launch continue apace, with a target date of early Monday morning.
Quick Glance At The Year To Come
There were 93 launches from KSC and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2024, with the bulk of those launches being SpaceX / Falcon 9 missions. In 2025, Elon Musk said “Probably [greater than] 180 Falcon launches in 2025” and the bulk of those will be from here on the Space Coast.
United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno said ULA has 20missions on its 2025 manifest. Payload readiness will be the apparent limiting limiting factor, according to Bruno, and like Falcon 9, the bulk of those missions will launch from the company’s Eastern Range launch pad at Space Launch Complex 41.
Blue Origin will also add to the launch count, with several New Glenn missions slated to lift off from LC-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The current target for the year has not been stated by the company, and much depends on the success of the first flew flights of the new rocket.
All in all, it is fair to say that like 2024, the record for the number of launches from Florida will be broken come year’s end.
SpaceX
SpaceX has two launches on the schedule for this weekend.
Thuraya 4-NGS – Friday 3 January – 08:27 PM – 12:53 AM EST
Starlink 6-71 – Sunday 5 January – 12:10PM – 4:41 PM EST
Thuraya 4
A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off carrying the GSAT-20 mission on November 18, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Thuraya 4-NGS is a communication satellite built by Airbus UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company P.J.S.C. (Yahsat). It is built on the all-electric Airbus Eurostar-Neo Platform and will incorporate a large 12-meter L-band antenna and a payload capable of processing providing 3200 channels over a large number of spot beams.
Thuraya is the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company P.J.S.C. (Yahsat), a public company and subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company. Established in 1997, Thuraya is the UAE’s first home-grown satellite operator.
Formed in 2008 and publicly traded on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, Yahsat serves customers in 150 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, Asia and Australia. They offer voice, data, video and internet services for broadcast, Internet, and VSAT users for both private and government organizations.
Thuraya 4 rendering, released by Yahsat.
Thuraya 4 will be aboard Falcon 9 and launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Via Space Launch Delta 45 of the US Air Force on 1/1/2025
Starlink 6-71
SpaceX plans to add to its ever-growing Starlink constellation with the Starlink 6-71 mission. There are around 6,800 Starlink satellites in orbit currently, with several thousand more planned. The mission will carry another batch of 20-23 Starlink Mini V2 units to join the company’s Group 6 band of satellites.
Starlink launching in 2023 from SLC-40 in Cape Canaveral.
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Falcon 9 will be again be the workhorse for this mission, also planned to launch from SLC-40 on Sunday afternoon, with the window opening at 12:10 PM EST.
Neither launch has been officially announced by SpaceX, so stay tuned.
Blue Origin
After completing its integrated vehicle hotfire test and wet dress rehearsal successfully, Blue Origin appears to be planning to launch New Glenn from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in the wee hours of Monday morning with the launch window opening at 01:00 AM EST on January 6th.
New Glenn during successful integrated vehicle hotfire. Photo: Blue Origin
Following the hotfire, Blue Origin’s prime investor and driving force, Jeff Bezos said succinctly, “Next stop launch.”
This will be the first flight of the 320-foot tall rocket for the company. Aboard will be test components for Blue Ring.
Despite the late (or early?) hour that Blue Origin plans to launch New Glenn, this is likely one of the launches of the year from the Eastern Range. That’s because New Glenn is large, and mighty with 3.8 million pounds of thrust coming from seven Blue Origin BE-4 engines. This promises to be a loud rocket, and one well worth watching.
The launch window extends from 01:00 AM EST (0600Z) to 04:45 AM (1045Z) the same day.
After two previous delays, including an abort-at-ignition and a booster swap, SpaceX launched the ‘From One To Many’ payload for Astranis tonight from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral aboard Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 12:00 AM EST (05:00 UTC) under broken skies on the Space Coast.
After two previous delays, including an abort-at-ignition and a booster swap, SpaceX launched the ‘From One To Many’ payload for Astranis tonight from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral aboard Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 12:00 AM EST (05:00 UTC) under broken skies on the Space Coast.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted off at the stroke of midnight December 29th. It was carrying the Astranis ‘From One To Many’ payload to orbit. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Around 8.5 minutes later, Falcon 9 Booster B1083 completed its seventh mission successfully when it touched down on ASDS ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’ stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. ASOG and B1083 will now return to Port Canaveral, where the booster will be offloaded and returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center for inspection and preparation for its eighth flight.
At 3:02 AM EST, Astranis CEO said, “Great news– we have acquired and established command authority over all four spacecraft.”
Falcon 9 venting late in the countdown before its launch on January 29, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Payload
Four Astranis MicroGEO Block 2 communications satellite were delivered to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Once they have been deployed, they will travel to their final orbital locations under their own power.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
SpaceX is planning to launch Starlink 12-6 from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center NET Monday, December 30, 2024. The launch window opens at 12:00 AM EST (0500 UTC) and closes at 3:28 AM the same day.
Date: NET December 30, 2024
Organization: SpaceX
Mission: Starlink 12-6
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center
Launch Window: 12:00 – 03:28 AM EST
Payload: Starlink satellites for SpaceX’s ISP constellation.
A timelapse of the flight path of Falcon 9 / Astranis From One To Many on December 29, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Despite no rockets heading to space this weekend from the Eastern Range, it was still quite a busy weekend for both SpaceX and Blue Origin at Cape Canaveral.
Friday Evening / Saturday Morning
Falcon 9 / Astranis ‘From One To Many’ standing at the launch pad early Friday evening at Space Launch Complex 40. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
First up on deck was SpaceX and Falcon 9 out at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the Astranis “From One To Many” mission. After a couple of short pushes to later in the evening, T-0 was set for midnight on Saturday morning.
The countdown seemed smooth and without incident, but when Falcon 9 ignited its engines, there was an immediate shutdown and a launch abort. Due to the nature of Falcon 9’s propellants, a scrub for the evening was called immediately.
Falcon 9, Booster B1077, Astranis ‘From One To Many,’ September 20, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX has not disclosed what caused the shutdown to happen, but as of Sunday morning, Falcon 9 is horizontal on the launch mount at SLC-40. Both rocket and payload are safe, and SpaceX’s team is working to remediate the issue(s) that caused the shutdown. They have not announced a new launch day/time for the next attempt for this mission.
Falcon 9, horizontal at SLC-40 on Sunday, December 22, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Blue Origin Continues Wet Dress Testing of New Glenn
Over at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Blue Origin continued testing New Glenn as it prepares for the first launch of the company’s first orbital rocket.
New Glenn standing tall at LC-36 in Cape Canaveral on Saturday, December 21, 2024. The rocket was venting vapors and the burnoff towers were aflame most of the day. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Throughout the day and early to the evening, Blue’s team conducted a Wet Dress Rehearsal for New Glenn, and at times a Static Fire of the first stage seemed imminent: the venting would stop, flame from burn-off stacks would diminish, while ice was falling off of the rocket. But, alas, it was not meant to be.
The status and outcomes of the Wet Dress Rehearsals have not been released by Blue Origin. Given that New Glenn remains upright and that no statement of any potential delays have been announced, optimistically, things seem to be going well.
As seen from the pier at Jetty Park, Blue Origin’s New Glenn on its launch mount on September 21, 2024. To the right, the Cape Canaveral lighthouse. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk o Titusville
No timelines for any potential static-fire or launch attempts have been given. Aside from successfully completing prelaunch operations and a static fire of New Glenn, Blue Origin still needs a launch license from the FAA before it can send New Glenn on its debut flight. Given that Blue Origin has said that they are planning to launch this year, it will need to come soon — and the Christmas holiday looms next week.
New Glenn venting on December 21, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Both Blue Origin and SpaceX Are Staying Busy At Port Canaveral
A quick look at Port Canaveral saw no SpaceX automdated drone ships in port, but both of their support ships, Bob and Doug, were moored at the SpaceX docks.
Booster B1090 is on the dock awaiting transportation to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center, and by all appearances, that move will be made quite soon.
Only a few yards to the northwest, Blue Origin’s booster landing ship Jacklyn and its support ship, ‘Harvey Stone’ were also in port.
Booster B1090 on SpaceX’s dock at Port Canaveral Saturday morning. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleBlue Origin’s Jacklyn and Harvey Stone look ship-shape and ready to head out to see when the word is given. After a successful static fire, when this pair heads out things will be getting real for the first flight of New Glenn. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleSpaceX’s ‘Doug’ moored in Port Canaveral on December 21, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of TitusvilleGood Neighbors: from left to right: Blue Origin’s ‘Jacklyn’, Blue’s ‘Harvey Stone’, SpaceX’s berth and Booster B1090. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Views from the launch pad of Falcon 9 at Space Launch Complex 40. Later that night, when the engines that power the first stage were ignited, a problem was detected by the rocket’s computers and an instant shutdown and launch aboard were automatically triggered. Both rocket and payload are safe.
SpaceX launched an undisclosed payload for the US Space Force tonight from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral aboard Falcon 9. Liftoff was at 7:52 EST (00:52 UTC) under heavy skies on the Space Coast.
Falcon 9 RRTS-1 Liftoff, as seen on the SpaceX livestream.
Around 8.5 minutes later, Falcon 9 Booster B1085 completed its fourth mission successfully when it touched down on ASDS ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’ stationed off of the coast of the Carolinas. ASOG and B1085 will now return to Port Canaveral, where the booster will be offloaded and returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center for inspection and preparation for its fifth flight.
Payload
Good question. Those who know aren’t saying, but evidence points towards a GPS satellite according to a number of sources who closely analyzed the publicly available information of the flight path for this launch and then compared that to other missions.
Others were more specific, saying it is the GPS-IIIA satellite. If so, that would mean that the first of the third-generation GPS satellites has been launched.
Launch Replay
Next Launch
SpaceX is planning to launch the O3b mPower 7 & 8 mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center NET Tuesday, December 17, 2024. The launch window opens at 3:59 PM EST and closes at 5:26 PM the same day.
Weather is a major watch item for this flight, with a 45% Probability of Violation at any point in the launch window, according to the December 16 launch forecast issued by the US Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron.
Lather, rinse, repeat: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying the Starlink 12-5 mission shortly after midnight this morning. Liftoff was at 12:10 AM EST from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral and into cool, clear, star-studded skies over the Space Coast.
Starlink 12-5’s path through the sky this morning. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Around 8.3 minutes later, Falcon 9 touched down offshore on ASDS ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’, successfully concluding its 2nd mission. ‘A Shortfall Of Gravitas’ had been pre-positioned offshore downrange and will now return to Port Canaveral where the booster will be returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X for inspection and, presumably, preparation for its 3rd flight.
It is believed that the booster used for this morning’s flight is B1086, which was first used as a side-booster for the Falcon Heavy GOES-U launch earlier this year, but SpaceX only stated “This is the second flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GOES-U.”
Spectators who lined the usual spots in Cape Canaveral, Titusville and other Space Coast locations were able to watch Falcon 9 for quite a long while in the clear skies: from 528 West at the Banana River Bridge, Falcon 9’s second stage was visible for at least 6.5 minutes after launch, while the booster Entry Burn was in plain sight for the entirety of that phase of flight. Such are winter night launches into dry air and clear skies.
Falcon 9 and Starlink 12-5 in flight, as seen in Orlando. Photo: Ed Cordero / Florida Media Now
Payload
On their mission web page, SpaceX stated that tonight’s payload was “23 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capability.”
Those satellites will join the nearly 7,000 other Starlink satellites as part of SpaceX’s internet connectivity service serving over 4 million customers in more than 100 countries world-wide.
Launch Replay
By The Numbers
60th launch from SLC-40 this year
991st Cape Canaveral launch
129th SpaceX launch in 2024
2.7 days between SpaceX launches in 2024
441st SpaceX launch all time
384th Falcon-family booster landing (includes Falcon Heavy cores)
89th landing on A Shortfall Of Gravitas
56th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch
Next Launch
SpaceX is planning to launch the O3b mPower 7 & 8 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral NET Friday, December 13, 2024. The launch window opens at 3:55 PM EST and closes at 5:55 PM the same day.
Date: NET December 13, 2024
Organization: SpaceX
Mission: O3b mPower 7 & 8
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: Space Launch Complex 40, CCSFS
Launch Window: 3:55 – 5:55 PM EST
Payload: Telecommunication satellites for SES
Keep in mind that launch dates and times change often. Launch attempts can be scrubbed anytime due to weather, technical reasons, or range conditions.
SpaceX launched the Starlink 12-1 mission to low-Earth orbit aboard a Falcon 9 early Monday morning from Cape Canaveral. The launch time was 5:02 AM. According to the company, 23 Starlink satellites were deployed successfully, including 12 of the communications platform’s Direct-To-Cell capable version. According to SpaceX, “Starlink Direct to Cell network delivers seamless access to texting, voice and data on phones across the globe.”
Starlink 12-1 launches aboard Falcon 9 on November 25, 2024. Photo courtesy SpaceX
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.
B0180 flew today only 14 days after its Starlink 6-69 mission on November 11th, only fourteen days ago. That’s the fastest turnaround on record thus far for a Falcon 9 booster, besting the previous record of 21 days, achieved by B1062 in 2022. Now safely aboard ‘Just Read The Instructions,’ booster and barge will now return with B0180 to Port Canaveral, where B1080 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 6:08 AM EDT, SpaceX confirmed a successful deployment of the payload of Starlink satellites and a successful end to the flight.
57th launch from Space Launch Complex 40 this year
Next Launch
Space Coast residents won’t have to wait long for the next launch. SpaceX has a Falcon 9 launch carrying the Starlink 6-76 group planned for late this evening from pad LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. The launch window opens at 10:35 PM and extends to 2:31 AM EST Tuesday morning.
Date: NET November 25, 2024
Organization: SpaceX
Mission: Starlink 6-76
Rocket: Falcon 9
Launch Site: Launch Complex 39A, Kennedy Space Center
Launch Window: 10:35 PM – 2:31 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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.