Updated 1:50 a.m. EDT (0240 UTC): Launch details added following liftoff of the Starlink 6-21 mission.
Following an evening of blustery winds and multiple shifts of its T-0 liftoff time, SpaceX was able to launch its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Thursday morning on its 44th Starlink delivery mission of the year.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 occurred at 1:36 a.m. EDT (0536 UTC), the fourth launch opportunity out of five possibilities in the window. SpaceX did not give a reason for the delays, but high winds buffeted the area throughout the night.
The U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron, based at Cape Canaveral, had warned of scattered showers rolling in off the Atlantic and breezy winds. They predicted a 50-50 chance of a weather rule violation, with cumulus clouds and liftoff winds being the major concerns.
The Falcon 9 is carrying 22 second-generation satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service. The company announced this week that its service was now available across the entire U.S. thanks to the four times extra capacity offered by the latest Starink satellite model, known as the V2 Mini. It recently said Starlink now had more than two million subscribers in more than 60 countries.
After lifting off, the Falcon 9 headed south-east, targeting an orbit inclined at 43 degrees to the equator. The first stage booster, making its eighth flight, separated from the second stage about two and a half minutes into flight, landing on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions. The barge was stationed in the Atlantic ocean east of the Bahamas about 420 miles (675 km) from Cape Canaveral.
The booster, tail-number B1076, first flew on the CRS-26 cargo mission in November 2022. It went on to fly the OneWeb Launch 16 and Intelsat IS-40e mission, and also made four Starlink deliveries. Its most recent flight was on Sept. 9, 2023, making this the fourth fastest turnaround for a Falcon 9 booster between flights.
Two burns of the Falcon 9’s second stage will be required to place the satellites into the required 182 x 176 mile (293 x 284 km) orbit. Separation of the satellite stack is scheduled to occur just over an hour into the flight.
According to statistics compiled by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and widely-respected expert on spaceflight activity, SpaceX has launched 5,200 Starlink satellites to date and the number of Starlink satellites remaining in orbit is 4,842
