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SpaceX is preparing to hit one other milestone with its late Wednesday night Starlink mission launch. The flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station will mark the corporate’s ninetieth orbital launch in 2023 and its 280th Falcon 9 launch to this point.
Liftoff of the Starlink 6-33 mission is ready for 11:01 p.m. EST (0401 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40.
Spaceflight Now can have live coverage of the mission starting an hour before liftoff on YouTube.
Weather for the mission is good at liftoff, but meteorologists have their eye on the image downrange as well. Liftoff winds are the one watch item in a forecast that predicts 95 percent favorable weather.
“A secondary push of cold air will filter into the world [on Wednesday], bringing clear skies and a stronger pressure gradient over the Space Coast,” the launch forecast stated. “This may lead to gusty surface winds through tomorrow evening which can slowly diminish through the launch window, so liftoff winds remain the one concern.”
The forecast also noted that upper-level wind shear is taken into account “low to moderate” and was highlighted under the Additional Risk Criteria section.
If the Starlink 6-33 mission is capable of launch on time, it would mark the third fastest turnaround for SpaceX’s workhorse launchpad, SLC-40. This mission shall be the 159th SpaceX orbital launch from this pad.
The primary stage booster getting used for the launch is tail number 1077, which is launching on its ninth flight with this mission. Notable previous launches include Crew-5 and GPS 3 Space Vehicle 06.
It is going to land on the drone ship, Just Read the Instructions, about eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff. The 23 satellites on board will bring the full launched in 2023 as much as 1,871.
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Reposting an infographic from analytics firm BryceTech, SpaceX founder Elon Musk stated that the corporate is “tracking to launch over 80 percent of all Earth payload to orbit this 12 months.” It’s Q3 report states that out of the 63 orbital launches around the globe, SpaceX accounted for 26 of them.
Broken down further, SpaceX launched significantly more to space than the remaining of the world combined. It launched 519 spacecraft during Q3 in comparison with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the following closest, which launched 24 spacecraft.
The stat that Musk quoted from BryceTech was one which he often likes to carry up, which is spacecraft upmass to orbit. That chart shows in Q3, SpaceX launched 381,278 kg to orbit, followed by CASC at 24,560 kg and Roscosmos with 17,475 kg.
Meanwhile, over at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, teams proceed to work towards what likely will find yourself being the ultimate launch from that pad in 2023. The Falcon Heavy supporting the USSF-52 mission rolled back into the adjoining hanger Tuesday evening in anticipation of integrating the X-37B spaceplane onto the rocket.
Launch of the ninth Falcon Heavy to this point continues to focus on Dec. 10.
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