CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX's launch schedule went bicoastal overnight, with Falcon 9 rockets Starlink sending satellites into low-Earth orbit, including mission 10-10 from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.


What You Need To Know

  • SpaceX pulled off two Starlink launches overnight

  • One took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and one took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California

  • The Brevard launch came at 2:10 a.m. ET,  a little more than 14 hours after a Falcon Heavy liftoff from the Space Coast

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The launch from Brevard County came at 2:10 a.m. ET Tuesday, just a little more than 14 hours after a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket took off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 12:06 p.m. ET. Monday.

The Brevard County launch early Tuesday carried 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth and marked SpaceX's 100th launch of 2024, a record for orbital launches by one company in a single year. Monday's Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off on a NASA mission with a satellite that will investigate Europa, Jupiter’s “mysterious moon."

 

The other Starlink mission overnight lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It was mission 9-20 and carried 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities.

The booster rocket for the Space Force Station launch, B1080-11, was on its 11th flight. Previous launches included Euclid, Axiom-2, Axiom-3, Cygnus NG-21, SES 24, CRS-30 and four other Starlink missions.

 

After getting the Starlink satellites into space, it landed safely on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.

The booster for the California launch, B1071-19, was on its 19th flight. It previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, NROL-146, and 11 Starlink missions before Tuesday's.

Minutes after takeoff, it landed safely on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean.

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics’ Dr. Jonathan McDowell documents Starlink satellites.

Before Tuesday's launches, McDowell recorded the following:

  • 6,420 are in orbit
  • 6,151 are in operational orbit