SpaceX launches 24 Starlink satellites with Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now

Update 12:29 a.m. EST (0529 UTC): SpaceX has landed the first stage booster on its drone ship.

SpaceX completed the first of its last two Falcon 9 launches in November, using launch pads in Florida and California.

The Starlink 6-65 mission, which will add an additional 24 Starlink satellites to the company’s rapidly growing mega-constellation, launched at midnight (05:00 UTC) on November 30 from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.



At the start of the midnight mission, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast an 85 percent chance of favorable weather at launch, citing dense clouds and gusty winds as potential concerns.

“(Rainfall) is expected to occur through the main launch window at midnight, but the question of clouds remains,” launch weather officers wrote in their forecast. “Most models still show extensive post-frontal cloud cover, potentially flirting with freezing and thus becoming a problem for launch weather.

“Factors at play include how quickly surface winds swing from the north-northeast, increasing post-frontal inversion.” The most problematic cloud decks will advance south through the window, although a low stratocumulus deck is likely to remain becomes. Post-frontal winds will also be a point of observation, although the strongest winds will occur at speeds several hours ahead of the window while remaining breezy and easing into late night.”

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1083 in the SpaceX fleet, was launched for the sixth time. Previously, launches were supported by Crew-8, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31 and two Starlink missions.

Just over eight minutes after liftoff, B1083 landed on the SpaceX Just Read the Instructions drone ship. The successful booster touchdown was the 100th booster landing for JRTI and the 376th booster landing to date.

SpaceX is ready to launch another Falcon 9 rocket about three hours after the Starlink 6-65 mission. The NROL-126 mission is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

This will be the latest flight for the National Reconnaissance Office under what it calls its “proliferated architecture.” This launch’s payload, believed to be the government variant of the Starlink satellites called “Starshield,” will be the fifth such batch to be launched this year.