Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
SpaceX got Falcon 9 to work right at the beginning of tonight’s launch window when it launched the Starlink 6-51 mission at 5:26 PM EDT into the bluebird skies of the Space Coast. The payload was another 23 Starlink satellites to join the company’s ever-growing constellation of thousands of satellites in low-Earth orbit that provide Internet service to underserved areas globally.
Booster Touches Down Safely Near Bahamas
About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, Booster B1077 touched down safely on SpaceX’s ‘Just Read The Instructions’ automated droneship located offshore in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of the Bahamas, completing its 12th mission safely.
Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT
Booster B1077
Booster B1077 successfully completed its 12th flight. It entered service on October 5, 2022 and was previously used for Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, NG-20, and now six Starlink missions, and safely touched down at sea on the Automated Spaceport Drone Ship ‘Just Read The Instructions.’
The drone ship will return to Port Canaveral, where it will be returned to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center for inspection, refurbishment and preparation for its next mission.
| SpaceX Booster B1077 | ||
| Flight | Mission | Date |
| 1 | Crew-5 | 10/15/2023 |
| 2 | GPS III SV06 | 01/18/2023 |
| 3 | Inmarsat-6 F2 | 02/18/2023 |
| 4 | Starlink Group 5-10 | 03/29/2023 |
| 5 | Dragon CRS-2 SpX-28 | 06/05/2023 |
| 6 | Galaxy 37 | 08/03/2023 |
| 7 | Starlink Group 6-13 | 09/01/2023 |
| 8 | Starlink Group 6-25 | 10/30/2023 |
| 9 | Starlink Group 6-33 | 12/07/2023 |
| 10 | Northrup Grumman NG-20 | 01/30/2024 |
| 11 | Starlink Group 6-43 | 03/10/2024 |
| 12 | Starlink Group 6-51 | 04/17/2023 |
Next Launch
The wait won’t be long for the next launch from the Space Coast: weather and spacecraft readiness permitting, SpaceX is planning another Starlink launch Thursday, April 18, this time from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
- Date: NET April 18, 2024
- Organization: SpaceX
- Mission: Starlink 6-52
- Rocket: Falcon 9
- Launch Site: SLC -40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Time: 06:40-11:11 PM EDT (Tentative and subject to change)
- Payload: 23 Starink Satellites
Keep in mind that launch dates and times change often. Launch attempts can be scrubbed at any time due to weather, technical reasons or range conditions.
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