A Falcon 9 rocket stands at the ready to support the Starlink 10-4 mission, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 28, 2024. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
Update 2:13 a.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed successful deployment of the Starlink satellites.
SpaceX continued its post-mishap resurgence with the first of planned back-to-back launches in the early morning hours of Sunday. It staged two of its Falcon 9 rockets to launch from its pads in both Florida and California.
First up was the Starlink 10-4 mission, which added a batch of 23 Starlink Version 2 Mini satellites to its growing mega-constellation. Liftoff happened at 1:09 a.m. EDT (0509 UTC). This was also the 300th launch of a flight-proven booster for SpaceX.
The mission came on the heels of a successful return to flight operation for SpaceX early Saturday morning. It was the first Falcon 9 launch in just over two weeks, following a second stage mishap that occurred during a Starlink mission, which launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on July 11.
The Falcon 9 booster supporting this mission, tail number B1077 in the SpaceX fleet, launched and landed for a 14th time. It previously launched NASA’s Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station, the GPS 3 Space Vehicle 06 satellite and two cargo missions to the orbiting outpost among its previous flights.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1077 landed on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ It marked the 77th landing on ASOG and the 331st booster landing to date.
The Starlink 10-4 mission was the 51st dedicated Starlink launch of 2024 and the 114th dedicated launch of the V2 Mini variety of Starlink satellites.
According to expert orbital tracker and astrophysicist, Jonathan McDowell, there are more than 6,100 active Starlink satellites in low Earth orbit. On Wednesday, SpaceX announced that with a recent deal from the airline, WestJet, Starlink internet service is now available on more than 1,000 aircraft.
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