CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — It was an extra special Mother’s Day as SpaceX launched 23 more Starlink satellites.
What You Need To Know
- SpaceX launched 23 more Starlink satellites
- The launch will take place at Space Launch Complex 40
The company’s Falcon 9 rocket left at 8:53 p.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
For the Starlink 6-58 mission, the 45th Weather Squadron gave an 85% chance of good liftoff conditions. The only concern was the thick cloud layers rule.
Going up
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster, B1073, has 14 launch missions to its name, not counting this one.
- ispace’s HAKUTO-R and NASA’s Lunar Flashlight
- SES-22 telecommunications satellite
- Amazonas Nexus
- CRS-27
- Bandwagon-1
- 9 Starlink satellite missions
After the stage separation, the first stage landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship that was out in the Atlantic Ocean.
Falcon 9 lands on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship pic.twitter.com/MVr0R1ov7t
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 13, 2024
About the mission
The Falcon 9 rocket sent up 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. These satellites provide telecommunications to many parts of the Earth.
The Starlink company is owned by SpaceX.
Nearly 6,000 of them are in orbit, according to Dr. Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
McDowell records Starlink satellites.
- 5,977 are in orbit
- 5,233 are in operational orbit
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