Starlink 7 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX sets new mark in rocket reuse 10 years after first Falcon 9 launch

June 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the Falcon 9 rocket’s debut flight, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral with a reused first stage Wednesday, then landed the previously-flown booster for a record fifth time after sending 60 more Starlink Internet satellites into space.

Timeline for Falcon 9 launch with Starlink satellites

June 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Follow the key events of the Falcon 9 rocket’s ascent to orbit with 60 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.

Live coverage: Falcon 9 rocket launches with more Starlink satellites

June 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX launched the next group of satellites for the company’s Starlink broadband network Wednesday at 9:25 p.m. EDT (0125 GMT Thursday) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The satellites rode into orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket with a first stage flown on four previous missions, and the booster made a successful fifth landing on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX targets Wednesday night for next Starlink launch

June 1, 2020 Stephen Clark

Days after launching astronauts for the first time, SpaceX is set to resume a speedy cadence of satellite launches Wednesday night with liftoff of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s next batch of Starlink broadband relay stations.

SpaceX delays next Starlink mission after crew launch

May 18, 2020 Stephen Clark

Citing a tropical storm in the downrange booster recovery zone, SpaceX said Monday that a launch of up to 60 more Starlink Internet satellites previously planned this week from Cape Canaveral has been delayed until after the launch of the company’s first crewed flight.

Blustery weather keeps Atlas 5 rocket grounded, SpaceX launch slips to Tuesday

May 16, 2020 Stephen Clark

Gusty winds associated with a subtropical low pressure system prevented United Launch Alliance from sending an Atlas 5 rocket into orbit Saturday from Cape Canaveral with the U.S. Air Force’s clandestine X-37B spaceplane. ULA plans to try again Sunday, and a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from a nearby pad has been delayed to Tuesday.

SpaceX readies rocket for final Falcon 9 launch before crew flight

May 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

SpaceX fired up a Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Wednesday in a pre-flight test for a Starlink satellite launch Sunday, moving closer to the company’s final mission before sending two NASA astronauts into orbit for the first time May 27.

Back-to-back launches scheduled from Cape Canaveral this weekend

May 13, 2020 Stephen Clark

Working under physical distancing requirements and other precautions against the coronavirus pandemic, range teams at Cape Canaveral are preparing for launches of Atlas 5 and Falcon 9 rockets from neighboring pads this weekend.

SpaceX to debut satellite-dimming sunshade on Starlink launch next month

April 28, 2020 Stephen Clark

A new sunshade, or visor, designed to reduce the brightness of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband Internet satellites will debut on the company’s next launch, a measure intended to alleviate astronomers’ concerns about impacts on observations through ground-based telescopes, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Monday.