Starlink

SpaceX completed the first of two planned Starlink missions from Florida this week. The first launch lifted off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral on Monday at 2:14 p.m. EDT (1814 UTC).

Prior to launch, SpaceX sent 656 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit so far this year. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-55 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 10:37 p.m. EDT (0237 UTC).

The mission was the 30th orbital launch from Florida in 2024. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 6:17 p.m. EDT (2217 UTC).

The mission comes a day after launching 23 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-52 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 6:40 p.m. EDT (2240 UTC).

With this launch, SpaceX is now one flight shy of tying the total number of Space Shuttle missions from this historic launch pad. This was the 81st flight of a Falcon rocket compared to the 82 total shuttle flights. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-51 mission happened at 5:26 p.m. EDT (2126 UTC).