Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX successfully launched another group of Starlink satellites into orbit this morning from its Space Launch Complex 40 facility to open the second half of the year. Liftoff was at 4:55 AM EDT.
Around 8:20 minutes after liftoff, the first-stage booster used for the mission, tail number B1073, touched down safely on ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean near the Carolinas. After landing, B1073 has now flown sixteen successful missions. ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ will now return to Port Canaveral, where the booster will be unloaded, transported to SpaceX’s Hangar X facility at Kennedy Space Center, and prepared for its next flight after inspection and refurbishment.
Launch Replay
Payload
According to SpaceX, tonight’s payload is “20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.”
Photo: Debbie Henninger Harris, shared by permission
Booster B1073.16 Record
| Booster B1073 | May 12, 2024 | |
| Flight | Mission | Date |
| 1 | Starlink 4-15 | May 14, 2022 |
| 2 | SES-22 | June 29, 2022 |
| 3 | Starlink 4-26 | August 10, 2022 |
| 4 | Starlink 4-35 | September 24, 2022 |
| 5 | HAKUTO-R | December 11, 2022 |
| 6 | Amazonus Nexus | February 7, 2023 |
| 7 | CRS-27 | March 15, 2023 |
| 8 | Starlink 6-2 | April 19, 2023 |
| 9 | Starlink 5-11 | June 12, 2023 |
| 10 | Starlink 6-12 | September 4, 2023 |
| 11 | Starlink 6-27 | November 8, 2023 |
| 12 | Starlink 6-37 | January 15, 2024 |
| 13 | Starlink 6-41 | March 4, 2024 |
| 14 | Bandwagon-1 | April 7, 2024 |
| 15 | Starlink 6-58 | May 12, 2024 |
| 16 | Starlink 8-9 | July 3, 2024 |
Next Launch
SpaceX will send a satellite built in Türkiye to geosynchronous orbit. Once commissioned, it will provide services to customers in Türkiye, Europe, the Northern coast of Africa, the Middle East, India, and Indonesia.
- Date: NET July 7, 2024
- Organization: SpaceX
- Mission: Türksat 6A
- Rocket: Falcon 9
- Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: 5:20 PM EDT
- Payload: Communications satellite
Keep in mind that launch dates and times change often. Launch attempts can be scrubbed anytime due to weather, technical reasons, or range conditions.
Author: Charles Boyer
NASA kid from Cocoa Beach, FL, born of Project Apollo parents and family. I’m a writer and photographer sharing the story of spaceflight from the Eastern Range here in Florida.
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