This Falcon 9 flight marks the 20th orbital launch from Florida in 2024. Liftoff from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 7:42p.m. EDT (2342 UTC).
The Commercial Resupply Services-30 (CRS-30) mission featured the first launch of a Dragon spacecraft to the ISS from pad 40 since the final first-generation SpaceX cargo ship flew in March 2020.
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).
This mission was the second of two Falcon 9 flights on Sunday night. Liftoff from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 9:09 p.m. PDT (12:09 a.m. EDT, 0409 UTC).
The Sunday evening launch was the first of two in a period of just over five hours. Liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station took place at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 UTC).
Join us for a roundup of the week’s space news with reporters covering the big stories. Spaceflight Now’s Will Robinson-Smith is joined by Irene Klotz, Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, and Richard Tribou, Space Reporter and Senior Content Editor for The Orlando Sentinel.
The launch came on the heels of the Crew-8 mission sending three astronauts and a cosmonaut on their way to the International Space Station. Liftoff took place on Monday, March 4, at 6:56 p.m. EST (2356 UTC).
The mission carried 53 payloads from dozens of companies, universities and government agencies. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base took place on Monday, March 4, at 2:05 p.m. PST (5:05 p.m. EST, 2205 UTC).
The mission to the orbiting outpost featured three NASA astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut who will spend roughly 180 days on the space station. Liftoff occurred at 10:53 p.m. EST (0353 UTC) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.