File photo Falcon 9 prior to the Starlink satellite delivery mission. Image: SpaceX. Update at 2:24 p.m. EDT (1824 UTC): Updated launch time.
SpaceX aims to break another flight record Friday night by launching 23 more Starlink satellites on its 18th flight with the Falcon 9 booster.
The Starlink 6-26 mission is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Space Force Station Cape Canaveral at 8:37 p.m. EDT (November 4 at 0037 UTC). It will send 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit, increasing the total by 2023. bringing the number of Starlink satellites launched to 1,711.
If necessary, there are three backup options between 21:01 and 22:22 EDT (0101-0222 UTC). There are also eight additional launch slots on the evening of Saturday 4 November.
Spaceflight Now’s live coverage of the launch will begin approximately one hour prior to launch.
The 45th Weather Squadron, based at Patrick Air Force Base, yesterday predicted an 80 percent favorable chance of a liftoff on Friday, citing overcast clouds and rising winds as possible elements of the watch. The weather will turn slightly worse on Saturday, making conditions 75 percent favorable.
The deck booster for this sunset mission, tail number B1058, is the oldest Falcon 9 booster currently flying. It flew for the first time in 2020. on May 30, launching former NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley to the International Space Station on the Demo-2 mission. It was the first flight of a commercial crew program with astronauts. Since then, SpaceX has flown seven crewed rotation missions to the orbital outpost, in addition to two private astronaut missions.
After liftoff, the booster will land on the Gravitas Deficit drone ship approximately eight and a half minutes later.
The Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the Demo-2 mission is emblazoned with NASA’s “worm” logo, which was retired from official use in 1992. Credits: SpaceX As SpaceX continues to work to add Dragon capabilities to SLC-40 with a new crew access tower, Friday night’s mission will be the company’s 152nd orbital launch since it began using the launch pad. This will be the 207th total launch from this site.
As SpaceX prepares for its 52nd Starlink launch this year, it’s also pursuing another mission at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. On Thursday, NASA announced another two-day slide to launch. This is the third time the mission has been delayed due to a problem with one of the Cargo Dragon’s flying Draco propellers. The launch was previously scheduled for November 3, 5 and 7.
“During the initial propellant load in preparation for the CRS-29 mission, the teams encountered a leak of NTO (nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer) in the Draco thrust valve, which required a standard procedure to halt the operation to fix the problem,” NASA said in a statement. statement. “The team checked the valve and the relevant data and decided to change the actuation.
SpaceX’s 29th mission for the Commercial Resupply Services program is currently scheduled for November 9. 8:28 p.m. EST (November 10 at 0128 UTC).
Mission patch of the SpaceX CRS-29 mission to the International Space Station. Image: SpaceX
