SpaceX is counting down to the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Sunday. It will be the 50th launch of the company’s workhorse rocket this year.
Liftoff of the Starlink 17-16 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for 7:37 a.m. PDT (10:37 a.m. EDT / 14:37 UTC). The rocket carrying 25 of SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini broadband internet satellites will take a southerly trajectory on departure from the central California coast.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage starting about 30 minutes prior to launch.
SpaceX is using first stage booster B1088 for this mission. The first stage is making its 15th flight following the launches of the NROL-126, Transporter-12, SPHEREx and NROL-57 missions, plus 10 previous batches of Starlink satellites.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1088 will make an autonomous landing on the SpaceX drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You. It will be the 193rd landing on this vessel and the 603rd booster landing to date.