22 V2 mini Starlink satellites are well on their approach to their operational orbits today following last night’s successful launch atop a Falcon 9, and SpaceX is closing in on its record for launches in a calendar yr.
Launching at 10:41 p.m. ET (02:41 UTC), the Falcon 9 thundered away from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida on its 4th mission. The mission was originally intended to launch earlier within the night, but SpaceX pushed the launch barely later either for weather or technical reasons.
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/exxvpLC6vk
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 7, 2023
Once SpaceX was within the countdown, fueling proceeded easily as offshore thunderstorms flashed in the gap. These 22 V2 mini Starlink satellites, Group 6-8, were launched on a South Easterly trajectory and inserted right into a 43-degree orbital inclination.
For the reason that July fifteenth launch of Starlink Group 5-15 (the last V 1.5 batch), all Starlinks launched will likely be the V2 mini Starlinks. SpaceX only launches as much as 22 at a time since they’re larger than their predecessors.
The Starlink V 1.5 satellites weighed in at ~306 kg (675 lbs) in comparison with the V2 mini Starlinks coming in at ~800 kg (1,800 lbs). While launching fewer satellites per launch may not seem ideal, the V2 mini Starlinks are literally rather more capable.
The V2 mini variant features two solar arrays, Argon Hall thrusters for higher on-orbit maneuvering and offers ~4 times more bandwidth than the sooner versions. The complete-size V2 Starlink will eventually be launched on Starship, as those don’t fit inside a Falcon 9 fairing.
It’s unknown when those launches will occur, but SpaceX made more progress this weekend with the static fire test of Booster 9.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship pic.twitter.com/5VzUyRUQks
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 7, 2023
As mentioned earlier, this was the 4th mission for Falcon 9 B1078. It landed on A Shortfall of Gravitas just below eight-and-a-half minutes after launch. The fairing halves for this mission were flying for the eighth and tenth times and were to be picked up from the ocean by the SpaceX recovery ship Doug.
This was the 53rd mission for SpaceX this yr, well ahead of their pace at the identical time last yr, which was their record-setting 61 launches. SpaceX could break this record next month.
Coming up next is one other Starlink launch, this time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, which could launch as early as 9 p.m. PT (04:00 UTC) tonight. Nevertheless, SpaceX has yet to verify this.