I recently said that covering Starlink launches is almost like covering Southwest Airlines’ daily flights from Orlando International Airport to Austin, Texas. It’s not that watching a rocket launch is boring, it never is, it is simply that SpaceX is flying missions to add to its Starlink constellation so regularly that it has become a reliable and routine service that’s much like, well, airline flights departing from the airport.

A Historic Night For Spaceflight

Tonight is such a launch, but this one comes with a big twist: it is the 20th flight of one of the company’s fleet of Falcon 9 boosters, and that is a first not only for SpaceX but also for spaceflight globally.

That this historic occasion is happening with little fanfare is a testament to the technical comptence of SpaceX generally, and the Falcon 9 teams that refurbish and launch them from the Cape specifically.

And while the booster and fairings are regularly reused, it must also be pointed out that their second stages are not, and that means that SpaceX’s factory in Hawthorne, California is creating not only the second stages at a torrid pace, they are also building Merlin Vacuum engines to power them as well. It is a job extremely well done by everyone, and it should be acknowledged as such by the spaceflight community generally.

Payload

23 Starlink satellites, to be used in SpaceX’s orbital-based Internet service.

Weather

The 45th Weather Squadron is forecasting all but perfect weather for a launch attempt tonight, with even better conditions tomorrow. Liftoff winds have less than a 5% chance of creating a Range Violation Friday, meaning a better than 95% chance of acceptable conditions. On Saturday, even that slight concern has been removed from the 45th’s forecast.

Trajectory

Falcon 9 will take a southeasterly direction tonight, as is customary for Group 6 Starlink missions.

Given that the flight is immediately offshore with no return to launch site, there will be no sonic boom from the launch this evening on the Space Coast.

Booster To Set Record

Tonight is slated to be the 20th flight of Booster B1062, a first for SpaceX — and for spaceflight anywhere. We cover the record of this historic booster here: SpaceX Booster To Launch For 20th Time Friday Night.

Will B1062 Fly A 21st Time?

That next flight is of interest because last May, “Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s vice president of build and flight reliability, said in May [2023] that engineers were in the process of certifying Falcon 9 boosters for up to 20 flights for Starlink missions,” according to a report by Stephen Clark at Ars Technica.

Later in 2023, Nate Janzen, manager of launch pad systems and operations for SpaceX at Vandenberg told Santa Barbara, California’s Noozhaek that “Next year, SpaceX will re-evaluate and conduct analysis with an eye toward certifying the first-stage boosters for 25 to 30 flights.” Whether or not that certification has been achieved as of yet will be an interesting bit of news to follow.

Landing

Per SpaceX, “Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.”

After touching down on A Shortfall of Gravitas, the booster will be returned to Port Canveral after a few days, where it will be offloaded and transported to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center, where it will be inspected, refurbished and possibly prepared for another next flight.

Interesting Stats

• This will be the 39th SpaceX launch this year₁
• 351st SpaceX launch all time₁
• 17th launch from SLC-40 this year
• 2 days, 19:42:00 turnaround for this pad if it launches at 9:22 PM EDT
• 298th Falcon family Booster landing
• 65th landing on A Shortfall Of Gravitas
• If successful, it will be the 252nd consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (excluding Amos-6)₂

1: this includes Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Starship Heavy Launches
2: Amos-6 is discounted due to a pad failure, not an in-flight anomoly

Watching Online

SpaceCoastLaunchCalendar.com will have a livestream of the launch if you’re not able to watch the launch in person: Livestream

SpaceX will have a livestream of the launch on their website: Starlink 6-49. This will also be available on the X platform.

Spaceflight Now will have coverage of the launch starting about one hour before liftoff on Youtube: link

Watching In Person

This evening’s planned launch is from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, which means that the best direct views of liftoff are: Banana River Bridge on FL-528 W near Port Canaveral, or the  southern parks on US-1 / S. Washington Avenue in Titusville. Kennedy Point Park and,Rotary Riverview Park (among others) are your best bets.

Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach Pier, Jetty Park Pier will have indirect views, meaning that liftoff will not be visible, but after the rocket clears the pad and any ground obstructions, you will be able to see Falcon 9 ascending clearly assuming there are no clouds between you and the rocket.

Being that the launch is in the evening, if you plan to attend in person, don’t forget mosquito spray. Be prepared for potential pushes in the launch schedule, and keep up by monitoring the live stream links mentioned above.