Update 11:05 p.m. EDT: SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 28 Starlink satellites.
SpaceX launched another 28 optimized Starlink V2 Mini satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday night.
Liftoff of the Starlink 6-74 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 9:52 p.m. EDT (0152 UTC). The rocket followed a south-easterly trajectory once it left the pad.
On Wednesday, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a greater than 95 percent chance of favorable weather during launch.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster that used on this mission, tail number B1069 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for a 23rd time. Its previous flights included CRS-24, Eutelsat Hotbird 13F and 18 batches of Starlink satellites.
About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, B1069 landed on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, stationed in the Atlantic east of the Bahamas. This marked the 105th booster landing on this particular drone ship and the 435th booster landing to date.
Deployment of the 28 satellites, believed to be the lighter-weight optimized V2 mini models, happened one hour, five minutes into flight.
On Tuesday, SpaceX said it is now offering Starlink service in the eastern Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as it continues to roll out the satellite internet service worldwide.
