Falcon 9
Starlink satellites, Italian space tug launched by SpaceX rocket
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday from California’s Central Coast with 49 Starlink internet satellites and a rideshare space tug for the Italian company D-Orbit, itself carrying tech demo experiments and cremated human remains for customers in the United States, Germany, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
Live coverage: SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket from California
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket Tuesday with 49 Starlink internet satellites and a rideshare payload for the Italian company D-Orbit. Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California occurred at 8:15 a.m. PST (11:15 a.m. EST; 1615 GMT) after delays over the last two days to allow SpaceX to complete pre-launch preparations on the vehicle.
GPS navigation satellite set for launch on SpaceX rocket
SpaceX’s second launch for the U.S. military in three days is set to blast off from Florida and deliver a GPS navigation satellite into orbit Wednesday, reinforcing the global positioning and timing network as four more GPS spacecraft are in storage at a Lockheed Martin factory in Colorado to be launched as needed over the next few years.
Live coverage: Starlink launch from California delayed to next week
SpaceX plans to launch its first Starlink mission of 2023 no earlier than Jan. 19 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, following delays caused by bad weather and to examine data from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage. The Falcon will head southeast over the Pacific Ocean, targeting an orbit inclined 70 degrees to the equator to deploy the payloads into “Group 2” of the Starlink constellation.