The Starlink 8-1 mission marked the second declared launch of Starlink satellites featuring the Direct to Cell capability. Liftoff from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base happened on Saturday, April 6, at 7:25 p.m. PDT (10:25 EDT, 0225 UTC).
The mission came as SpaceX is preparing to launch a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station later this week. Liftoff of the Starlink 7-16 mission happened at 7:28 p.m. PT (10:28 p.m. ET, 0228 UTC).
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on a rideshare mission to low Earth orbit with a multitude of small payloads. The Transporter-9 mission lifted off into a clear blue sky at 10:49 a.m. PST (18:49 UTC).
SpaceX planned a pair of back-to-back Falcon 9 launches from both coasts but upper level winds scrubbed the liftoff from Florida. A Falcon 9 was able to launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 12:43 a.m. PDT (0743 UTC).
SpaceX’s first launch of the year from California, and fourth mission overall in 2023, added 51 more satellites to the Starlink internet constellation, keeping pace with the company’s goal of 100 Falcon rocket launches this year.
Firefly Aerospace successfully reached orbit with the second test flight of the company’s Alpha small satellite launcher. The Alpha rocket took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 12:01 a.m. PDT (3:01 a.m. EDT; 0701 GMT) Saturday.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket with 46 more Starlink internet satellites overnight Wednesday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, completing a quartet of rapid-fire polar orbit Starlink missions from the West Coast spaceport since mid-July.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 3:07 p.m. PDT (6:07 p.m. EDT; 2207 GMT) Friday with 53 Starlink internet satellites. The booster landed on a drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX raised a Falcon 9 rocket vertical Saturday at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California after a two-day delay caused by technical and weather problems. The rocket will carry a classified payload into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office.