The launch comes as the commercial astronaut mission, Polaris Dawn, is preparing for an on-orbit demonstration of the satellite internet service. Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base happened at 6:45 p.m. PDT (9:45 p.m. EDT, 0145 UTC).
The launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station was delayed a day due to poor weather in the booster landing zone. Liftoff happened at Thursday, Sept. 5, at 11:33 a.m. EDT (1533 UTC).
The mission was scheduled to launch less than an hour before a Starlink flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base. Liftoff happened at 3:43 a.m. EDT (0743 UTC).
Liftoff of the Starlink 9-5 mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) happened at 1:48 a.m. PDT (4:48 a.m. EDT, 0848 UTC). This was the second of two back-to-back overnight launches.
This is the second time in as many months that the workhorse vehicle for SpaceX has been grounded. The Federal Aviation Administration is awaiting a report from SpaceX that will include any needed corrective actions.
The mission comes on the heels of SpaceX having to stand down from launching the Polaris Dawn astronaut mission due to weather concerns. The lost booster, tail number B1062, was aiming for a record 23rd landing on the droneship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ when it collapsed and exploded.
The four astronauts, led by businessman Jared Isaacman, will fly onboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience. Liftoff is targeting no earlier than Monday, August 26.
The mission came a little more than 12 hours after SpaceX performed a static fire test of the rocket Monday night. Liftoff of the Starlink 10-5 mission happened at 9:20 a.m. EDT (1320 UTC).
The booster will first launch the Starlink 10-5 mission no earlier than the morning of Tuesday, Aug. 20. The static fire test happened Monday evening shortly after 7 p.m. EDT (2300 UTC).
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites at sunrise Monday, capping a busy long-weekend for the launch company that saw three launches and two scrubbed countdowns over four days.