SpaceX aced an early morning launch complimented by a beautiful sunrise on Monday, sending a Falcon 9 equipped with 23 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit.
The successful launch capped off a topsy-turvy weekend for SpaceX, who scrubbed two launches while completing three others over the four-day stretch.
Falcon 9 ascends with the dawn and 23 @Starlink satellites pic.twitter.com/u8yuJjIqlw
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 12, 2024
On Monday morning at 6:37 a.m. EDT, the Falcon 9 rocket with tail number B1073 launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, looking to successfully complete Starlink mission 10-7. Another launch for Starlink satellites on Saturday, which was designated as mission 8-3, was also successful. However, this launch was delayed one hour due to bad weather in the booster recovery zone, Spaceflight Now reported.
This morning’s launch was scheduled for Saturday as well, but the first attempt was scrubbed after the rocket did not make it to the launch pad in time for its four-hour launch window.
It was confirmed just an hour after launch that all 23 satellites made it to orbit, and a successful separation was reported. The Falcon 9 first stage touched down on the ‘A Shortfall from Gravitas’ droneship.
SpaceX is nearing 7,000 total launched Starlink satellites, as this launch brought the grand total to 6,895.
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