Join us for a roundup of the week’s space news with reporters covering the big stories. Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Irene Klotz, Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, and Richard Tribou, Space Reporter and Senior Content Editor for The Orlando Sentinel.
SpaceX published a livestream for the mission, suggesting it could launch its more than 400-foot-tall rocket by mid-March. There are still a number of outstanding items before that could happen, including the Federal Aviation Administration issuing a launch license.
The launch came on the heels of the Crew-8 mission sending three astronauts and a cosmonaut on their way to the International Space Station. Liftoff took place on Monday, March 4, at 6:56 p.m. EST (2356 UTC).
The mission carried 53 payloads from dozens of companies, universities and government agencies. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base took place on Monday, March 4, at 2:05 p.m. PST (5:05 p.m. EST, 2205 UTC).
The mission to the orbiting outpost featured three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut who will spend roughly 180 days on the space station. Liftoff occurred at 10:53 p.m. EST (0353 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
The Starlink 6-40 mission marked a rare Leap Day launch from the Cape. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket occurred at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 UTC) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The slide system differs notably from the slide wire basket system used over at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. NASA officials said pad 40 will be ready for astronaut launches this year.
The quartet touched down at the Launch and Landing Facility around 1:45 p.m. EST (1845 UTC). They’re set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Friday, March 1, at 12:04 a.m.
The Sunday flight was the first featuring a batch of 24 Starlink V2 Mini satellites, the most launched at once to date. Liftoff occurred at 5:06 p.m. EST (2206 UTC).
The launch of Telkomsat’s Merah Putih 2 satellite came more than five years after the company’s last launch aboard a SpaceX rocket. Liftoff occurred at the opening of a two-hour window at 3:11 p.m. EST (2011 UTC).