SpaceX was successful in launching 22 Starlink satellites from a Falcon 9 rocket this evening on the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
SpaceX initially planned to launch this batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral last week on October 8, but wind conditions forced the corporate to face down and reschedule.
The launch was pushed back to this week, and as SpaceX waited for favorable conditions, it pushed today’s launch back from 5:20 P.M. EDT to 7:52 P.M. without giving a proof.
The launch was pushed back once more and scheduled for 8:39 P.M. EDT.
Lower than half-hour until Falcon 9’s launch of twenty-two @Starlink satellites from Florida. Weather is looking good for liftoff→ https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 18, 2023
SpaceX broadcasted the launch survive X, formerly often known as Twitter, this evening, and all went in response to plan.
Falcon 9 launched following a smooth countdown at 8:39 P.M. EDT.
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/WK5xe5EgSL
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 18, 2023
Following stage separation at roughly 8:41 P.M. EDT, the primary stage landed on the “Just Read the Instructions” droneship, which was stationed within the Atlantic Ocean.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship pic.twitter.com/uBrRt1Elwg
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 18, 2023
This was the sixteenth launch for the B1062 booster, with its past efforts including. GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8, and eight previous Starlink missions.
SpaceX has over 5,000 Starlink satellites in orbit now, providing high-speed web with speeds of over 200 Mbps to numerous regions all over the world.
We proceed our live streaming to X… Tonight SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Starlink 6-23 Mission. https://t.co/gTFnGnEFCy
— Chris Bergin – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) October 18, 2023
SpaceX has also signed several contracts with corporations which have opted to make use of the Starlink service to supply stable and effective web service in various parts of the world.
Last week, Maersk agreed to terms with SpaceX to equip Starlink on 330 own-operated container vessels, providing high-speed web to crew for things like entertainment, video calls, and cloud-based data tracking.
Next, SpaceX will look to secure a launch license for the IFT-2 mission from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which will likely be the second test flight of Super Heavy and Starship.
SpaceX will use Starship to launch V2 and hopefully V3 Starlink Satellites “roughly a yr from now,” CEO Elon Musk said, in response to .