Mission Reports

SpaceX test-fired a Falcon 9 rocket at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Saturday in preparation for liftoff Sunday with the company’s next batch of 53 Starlink internet satellites. Test-firings on the launch pad were once a customary part of every SpaceX launch campaign, but the company is phasing out the static fire tests for most missions as the Falcon 9 launch cadence has ramped up to an average of one flight per week

With 2022 barely half over, SpaceX launched its 32nd mission of the year Friday from California’s Central Coast, breaking the company’s record for most launches in a year and delivering 46 more Starlink internet satellites into polar orbit to provide global broadband service.

SpaceX called off a Falcon 9 launch attempt Thursday less than a minute before liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the company’s first terminal countdown abort in more than 18 months for reasons other than bad weather or range safety.

SpaceX’s 32nd launch of 2022 broke the company’s record for most Falcon 9 rocket flights in a calendar year, and cut in half the shortest turnaround time between two Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket with 46 more Starlink internet satellites occurred Friday at 10:39 a.m. PDT (1:39 p.m. EDT; 1739 GMT). A launch attempt Thursday was scrubbed with less than a minute remaining in the countdown.

SpaceX is poised to launch 46 more Starlink internet satellites on a Falcon 9 rocket Thursday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission will mark SpaceX’s 32nd launch since Jan. 1, breaking the company’s record for Falcon 9 flights in a year.