SpaceX launched Falcon 9 carrying 21 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit Tuesday morning from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Liftoff was at 12:24 AM EST under cloudy skies and relatively cool weather.
Around eight minutes and a half minutes after lifting off, Booster B1083 completed its 8th mission when it touched down safely on ASDS ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, which was stationed offshore downrange. Previously, B1083 had flown Crew-8, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, and three Starlink missions, all successfully. ASOG and B1083 will now return to Port Canaveral for offloading and preparation for B1083’s next flight.
The second stage continued to orbit during the booster’s landing sequence and at 1:33 AM EST, SpaceX confirmed the deployment of the payload:
Payload
Individual Starlink satellites are part of Starlink constellation, which provides broadband-level Internet access all over the world, especially in remote areas. Currently, there are roughly 7,000 Starlink satellites in orbit. When each satellite reaches its end-of-life, it is deorbited by SpaceX in order to prevent any accumulation of space debris from the system.
Launch Replay
Spaceflight Now archives launch coverage on their YouTube channel. Here is last night’s coverage.
Next Launch
Another Falcon 9 / Starlink launch is scheduled for Friday, January 24th.
- Date: NET January 24, 2025
- Organization: SpaceX
- Mission: Starlink 10-12
- Rocket: Falcon 9
- Launch Site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
- Launch Window: 5:45 – 10:15 PM EST
- Payload: Starlink satellites
- Destination: Low-Earth Orbit
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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