CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — SpaceX launched nearly 30 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit on Thursday night.
What You Need To Know
- The Falcon 9 rocket sent up Starlink 6-74 mission from Space Launch Complex 40
The Falcon 9 rocket sent up Starlink 6-74 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The launch window opened at 9:52 p.m. ET and was set to close at 1:28 a.m. ET, Friday.
The 45th Weather Squadron gave a 90% chance of good liftoff conditions, with no concerns.
Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.
Going up
This is the 23rd mission for the Falcon 9's first-stage booster B1069. This first-stage booster has a history of Starlink launches:
- CRS-24
- Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F
- OneWeb 1
- SES-18 & 19
- 18 Starlink missions
After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.
About the mission
The 28 satellites from the Starlink company went into low-Earth orbit to join the thousands of their mechanical brothers and sisters.
Once deployed and in their orbit, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.
The Starlink company is owned by SpaceX.
Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been tracking Starlink satellites.
Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:
- 7,227 are in orbit
- 6,576 are in operational orbit
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Anthony has a long career as an editor and reporter for newspapers and news websites. He has covered general and breaking news, crime, and politics. In addition, he also covers space and rocket launches, where he has won awards for this coverage.
