NASA’s small Lunar Flashlight spacecraft, sent to the moon last year to search for water ice deposits at the lunar south pole, will not be able to complete its science mission after a problem with the probe’s propulsion system.
The second Falcon 9 launch of the day was the 71st dedicated Starlink mission of 2024. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 5:10 p.m. EDT (2110 UTC).
SpaceX delivered 56 more Starlink internet satellites into the company’s global internet constellation after liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Wednesday, bringing the total number of Starlinks launched to 4,217 spacecraft.