Updated at 11:15 PM EST (0230 UTC): Falcon 9 launch and satellite deployment. Falcon Heavy’s dormant fire slides into Saturday.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on Friday evening on another mission to deliver satellites into orbit for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service. The launch took place from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:00 PM EDT on September 29 (0200 UTC on September 30) after a delay of more than three hours due to weather.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Pad 40 into overcast skies, aiming for a trajectory that would take it southeast of Florida’s Space Coast. After stage separation, two and a half minutes into the flight, rocket 1069, which was making its 10th flight, headed toward a landing on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” stationed about 420 miles (675 km) in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Bahamas. . Landing occurred about eight and a half minutes after launch.
This was SpaceX’s 43rd Starlink delivery mission of the year. The 22 satellites, called V2 Mini, were launched into orbit one hour and five minutes after liftoff, according to the company’s social media post.
SpaceX recently announced that it has signed up more than two million subscribers in more than 60 countries for its Starlink internet service.
It’s been a busy day for SpaceX teams on Florida’s Space Coast. Early Friday morning, at Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, they launched a Falcon Heavy rocket for NASA’s Psyche launch, now scheduled for October 12. Plans to test fire the 27 first stage engines this evening have been postponed to Saturday. Spaceflight Now will provide you with live coverage of the launch and static fires.
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