CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — Regardless of the number of delays, SpaceX was able to launch more than 20 Starlink satellites on Thursday morning.

What You Need To Know

  • During one launch attempt, SpaceX scrubbed the Starlink 8-11 mission due to 'unfavorable weather conditions in the Atlantic'

  • It lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

The Falcon 9 rocket sent up Starlink 8-11 mission from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, at 11:33 a.m. ET, stated SpaceX. 

The mission had seen a number of delays: The Starlink mission was originally set to launch at 9:01 a.m. ET, Wednesday. However, SpaceX pushed back that time to 12:07 p.m. ET., and had the last back up opportunity at 12:59 p.m. ET. 

However, SpaceX scrubbed the mission Wednesday afternoon due to "unfavorable booster recovery weather conditions in the Atlantic," the company posted on X, formally known as Twitter. 

The next attempt was 8:35 a.m. ET, Thursday, but the California-based company shifted to a new time. It did not state why but weather may have been a factor.

The 45th Weather Squadron initially gave a 70% chance of good liftoff conditions for Wednesday, with the only concerns being the cumulus cloud and anvil rules.

However, it changed its forecast for Thursday to “25 ⮕40%” chances of poor liftoff conditions, with the same concerns against the launch.

Going up

This is the 15th mission for the Falcon 9's first-stage booster B1077. But before this launch, it has 14 missions under its belt, including one crewed mission.

  1. Crew-5
  2. GPS III Space Vehicle 06
  3. Inmarsat I-6 F2
  4. CRS-28
  5. Intelsat G-37
  6. NG-20
  7. Starlink mission 5-10
  8. Starlink mission 6-13
  9. Starlink mission 6-25
  10. Starlink mission 6-33
  11. Starlink mission 6-43
  12. Starlink mission 6-51
  13. Starlink mission 6-63
  14. Starlink mission 10-4

After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket landed on the droneship Just Read The Instructions that is in the Atlantic Ocean.

About the mission

The 21 satellites from the Starlink company, owned by SpaceX, will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.

Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been recording Starlink satellites that provide telecommunications to many parts of the world.

Before this launch, McDowell documented the following:

  • 6,380 are in orbit
  • 5,770 are in operational orbit

-

Facebook Twitter