Update Dec. 17, 10:20 a.m. EST (1520 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the Starlink satellites.
SpaceX completed the first of a planned pair of midweek, morning launches from its pads in both Florida and California.
Up first was the Starlink 6-99 mission, which added 29 more broadband internet satellites to SpaceX’s low Earth orbit constellation. According to astronomer and expert orbital tracker, there are currently more than 9,300 Starlink satellites in orbit.
Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center happened at 8:42 a.m. EST (1342 UTC). The rocket took a south-easterly path away from Florida’s Space Coast.
The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 95 percent chance for favorable odds of good weather at liftoff. Meteorologists said the booster recovery weather may not be ideal for a landing though.
“High pressure over the southeastern states will persist before the next cold front is expected to pass through by Friday,” launch weather officers wrote. “No change to the primary launch window forecast, with low chances of Cumulus Cloud Rule violation associated with isolated onshore-moving low-topped coastal showers.
SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number, 1094. This was its sixth flight after launching missions like Crew-11, Ax-4 and Cygnus NG-23.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1094 performed an autonomous landing on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean to the east of The Bahamas. This was the 146th landing on this vessel and the 552nd booster landing for SpaceX to date.
