SpaceX launched a brand-new Falcon 9 booster Tuesday after an abort halted its first attempt 24 hours earlier. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, with 23 Starlink satellites aboard, came at 11:19 p.m. EDT (03:19 UTC).
The launch of booster tail number 1095 was the fourth time a new booster has been brought into service by SpaceX this year. The company currently has 18 other boosters on active duty.
Earlier Tuesday, the new booster was lowered into the horizontal position so engineers could work on an issue that caused the countdown clock to stop at T minus two minutes and 28 seconds during the first launch attempt Monday.
After the launch scrub, SpaceX acknowledged in a social media post that an “auto abort” had occurred but did not disclose why. It said: “Vehicle and payload are in good health, and teams are resetting for a launch attempt no earlier than Tuesday, May 20.” The rocket was back in the vertical position at Space Launch Complex 40 late Tuesday afternoon.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1095 landed on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions.’ The successful landing was the 121st touchdown on this vessel and the 449th booster landing to date.
Inside the rocket’s payload fairing was a batch of 23 Starlink satellites, including 13 that are equipped for direct to cellphone communications. SpaceX confirmed deployment occurred about an hour and five minutes into flight after a short burn of the second stage to circularize the initial parking orbit.