CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — Going into the blue skies, SpaceX launched its Falcon 9 rocket on Thursday, carrying 24 Starlink satellites into space. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Falcon 9 rocket launched the Starlink 6-66 mission from Space Launch Complex 40

The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station while carrying the Starlink 6-66 mission, stated SpaceX. 

The launch happened at 11:07 a.m. ET, with other liftoff attempts until 2:49 p.m. ET.

The 45th Weather Squadron gave a 90% chance of good liftoff conditions, with the only concerns being the liftoff winds.

Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.

If the launch is scrubbed, the next chance would have been Friday at 10:25 a.m. ET.

Going up

This is mission 20 for the Falcon 9's first-stage booster B1069. As you can see, it is no stranger to Starlink missions:

After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket will land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

About the mission

The two dozen satellites from the Starlink company will be placed in low-Earth orbit to provide internet services to many parts of the globe.

SpaceX owns the Starlink company.

Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been keeping track of these satellites.

Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:

  • 6,676 are in orbit
  • 5,956 are in operational orbit

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