SpaceX set for 9th launch of the month

If the Florida weather cooperates, SpaceX will launch their 9th mission of the month with the Starlink Group 6-13 mission. A Falcon 9 will send 22 V2 mini Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

It has been an incredibly busy month for SpaceX from launching Crew 7 to the International Space Station, Starship testing, and of course, Falcon 9 launches. This will be the 7th Starlink mission for the month.

This launch will send 22 Starlink satellites to the South East and a 43-degree orbital inclination, with the satellites expected to separate from the 2nd stage an hour and five minutes after lift-off.

The weather outlook is a bit iffy, though, the 45th Weather Squadron is showing an 80 percent chance of weather violation at the start of the launch opportunities but improves to a 60% chance of acceptable weather at the end.

The first launch opportunity is at 7:52 p.m. ET (23:52 UTC), and if the weather isn’t acceptable, they have five more chances between 8:40 p.m. ET (00:40 UTC on September 1) until 11:29 p.m. ET (03:29 UTC on September 1). If weather or technical issues prevent the launch, SpaceX has more chances on September 1st between 7:25 p.m. ET (23:25 UTC) and 10:56 p.m. ET (02:56 UTC on September 2).

The Falcon 9 launching this mission will be Booster 1077 on its 7th flight. B1077 has previously launched Crew 5, CRS 28 resupply mission, 3 commercial payloads, and 1 Starlink mission. It last launched on August 3rd with just a 29-day turnaround for the booster. The current fastest turnaround time for a Falcon 9 is 21 days, held by B1062.

SpaceX had a chance for 10 launches this month, but they were forced to stand down the launch of Tranche 0, Flight 2 from California due to an engine issue. That launch is now scheduled for August 1st if they are able to sort out the problem with the engine.

The SpaceX webcast will go live about 5 minutes before launch, watch the webcast below!

Questions or comments? Shoot me an email at rangle@teslarati.com, or Tweet me @RDAnglePhoto.

 

Richard Angle: Launch journalist, specializing in launch photography. Based on the Space Coast, a short drive from Cape Canaveral and the SpaceX launch pads.
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