Falcon 9

SpaceX launched a German environmental mapping satellite and 39 co-passenger spacecraft Friday, dodging thunderstorms near Cape Canaveral that threatened to keep the Falcon 9 rocket on the ground.

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:24 p.m. EDT (1624 GMT) Friday with with 40 satellites to begin Earth-observing, communications, and technology demonstration missions.

A $330 million German hyperspectral Earth-imaging satellite will hitch a ride to orbit from Cape Canaveral with 39 smaller commercial payloads on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket set for blastoff Friday.

SpaceX flew one of its Falcon 9 rocket boosters for a record 12th time early Saturday, delivering 53 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit and closing out the first quarter of 2022 with 11 missions.

Fifty-three more of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites rode into orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket after midnight Saturday from Cape Canaveral. The reusable Falcon 9 booster completed its 12th successful mission to space, making it the fleet-leader in SpaceX’s inventory. Liftoff occurred at 12:42 a.m. EDT (0442 GMT).

SpaceX raised a veteran Falcon 9 booster vertical on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral late Thursday, ready for a record-setting 12th mission Friday night with 53 more Starlink internet satellites.

Another grouping of 48 Starlink internet satellites soared into orbit Wednesday from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, or what SpaceX’s launch director jokingly called an “American broomstick” in a jab at Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin.

SpaceX’s next batch of 48 Starlink internet satellites rode a Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Wednesday. SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 at 8:45 a.m. EST (1345 GMT) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.