Update 11:04 p.m. EDT: SpaceX is standing down from a Thursday night launch attempt and targeting no earlier than Friday, March 29.
As the month of March winds down, SpaceX hopes to squeeze in one more launch from California with a batch of 22 of its Starlink satellites on board. Without stating a reason why, the company decided to call off a launch attempt on Thursday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Liftoff of the Starlink 7-18 mission is now set for no earlier than Friday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. PT (10:30 p.m. ET, 0230 UTC).
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage of the mission beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
[embedded content]
This will be the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1071 in the SpaceX fleet. It previously launched two SmallSat Transporter rideshare mission, a pair of missions for the National Reconnaissance Office and NASA’s ocean-observing SWOT payload among others.
Following liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E), B1071 will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ a little more than eight minutes into flight. This will mark the 87th landing on OCISLY and the 289th booster landing to date.
SpaceX will deploy the Starlink satellites about an hour after launch from the Golden State. This mission will be the 20th Starlink flight in 2024 and boosts SpaceX to more than 6,100 Starlinks launched to date.
According to astronomer and expert tracker, Jonathan McDowell, there are currently 5,680 Starlink satellites currently on orbit.
- SEO Powered Content & PR Distribution. Get Amplified Today.
- PlatoData.Network Vertical Generative Ai. Empower Yourself. Access Here.
- PlatoAiStream. Web3 Intelligence. Knowledge Amplified. Access Here.
- PlatoESG. Carbon, CleanTech, Energy, Environment, Solar, Waste Management. Access Here.
- PlatoHealth. Biotech and Clinical Trials Intelligence. Access Here.
- Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2024/03/28/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-22-starlink-satellites-on-a-falcon-9-flight-from-vandenberg-space-force-base/
