Update Aug. 25, 7:18 a.m. EDT (1118 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the Starlink satellites.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida early Tuesday morning, using a first-stage booster making a record-breaking 37th flight.
The Starlink 10-49 mission added another 29 broadband internet satellites to the company’s low Earth orbit constellation consisting of more than 11,000 spacecraft. It could be the last Starlink flight from Cape Canaveral for a while, with no further missions for the company’s internet service appearing on the near-term schedule.
So far this year, SpaceX has launched 44 out of 76 Starlink missions from its West Coast launch site at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The company’s Cape Canaveral workforce has been refocused on Starship preparations.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 5:33 a.m. EDT (0933 UTC). The rocket headed off on a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 90 percent chance for favorable weather during the launch window. Launch weather officers said they’re watching for a small possibility of interference from cumulus and anvil clouds.
SpaceX’s flight-leading booster, tail number B1067, made its 37th mission after entering service in June 2021.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1067 landed on the droneship, A Shortfall of Gravitas, positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the 165th landing on this vessel and the 654th Falcon booster landing to date.
