CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — After pushing back the launch a number of times, SpaceX was able to launch a batch of Starlink satellites early Friday morning.

What You Need To Know

At 1:17 a.m. ET, the Falcon 9 rocket left Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to send more than 20 Starlink satellites into orbit, stated SpaceX.

Originally, the launch was scheduled for 9:55 p.m. ET, but it was pushed back to 12:27 a.m. ET, and then at 50 minutes later. SpaceX did not state why it had to push back its launch, but it is common for launches to have different times for backup launch attempts.

For example, if this launch was scrubbed, the next attempt would have been on Friday starting at 9:30 p.m. ET, with four more backup attempts ending at 12:52 a.m. ET, Saturday, stated the California-based company.

Before the launch, the first-stage booster B1069 had eight successful missions to its name.

After the stage separation, the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster landed on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that was out in the Atlantic Ocean.

About the mission

The Starlink 6-9 mission sent up 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit, joining the thousands of others that provide internet services to many parts of the round Earth.

The Starlink company is owned and operated by SpaceX.

Before the launch, astronomer Dr. Jonathan McDowell of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics recorded the current information on the Starlink satellites:

  • 4,575 are in orbit
  • 4,544 in working order
  • 3,818 are in operational orbit

Watch the launch

-

Facebook Twitter