SpaceX Saturday Starlink launch on schedule
Liftoff from launch site SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California remained on schedule Saturday morning, with ignition expected to occur at 1:55 p.m. EDT, SpaceX confirmed on its launch schedule page.
The California-based space technology company's latest mission will carry another 24 V2 Mini satellites operated by its Starlink telecom subsidiary.
SpaceX will live stream the operation on X, beginning around five minutes before liftoff, which will mark the company's 42nd launch from California this year.
The mission will bring the total number of Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit to more than 8,400.
The flight will also mark the 28th for this first stage booster, with the Falcon 9 rocket having previously propelled 16 Starlink missions, as well as several other satellite transportation flights.
The rocket also took part in NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission in 2022, which conducted a global survey of nearly all water on Earth's surface.
Rocket separation is expected to occur a little over eight minutes into the flight.
Following the launch, the rocket will land back in the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast, where it will be recovered by the company's Of Course I Still Love You droneship.
SpaceX also has a launch set for Sunday, when a separate Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida carrying Northrop Grumman's Cygnus mission 23 to the International Space Station.
Two more Starlink launches are also scheduled to lift off next week Wednesday and Thursday.
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