SpaceX is targeting no earlier than Saturday, March 30 for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 7:30 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 11:30 p.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Sunday, March 31 starting at 7:30 p.m. PT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about five minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.
This is the 18th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, mPOWER-A, PSN SATRIA, Telkomsat Merah Putih 2, and eight Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, March 30 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 9:02 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 10:00 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Sunday, March 31 starting at 7:00 p.m. ET.
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, March 30 for Falcon 9’s launch of the EUTELSAT 36D mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The three hour 58 minute launch window opens at 5:52 p.m. ET. If needed, a backup opportunity is available Sunday, March 31 with the same window.
Eutelsat 36D, built by Airbus, will be replacing Eutelsat 36B at 36° East where it will provide over 1100 broadcast channels and other connectivity across Africa, Russia, and Europe. The satellite features 70 Ku-band transponders to enable constant data flow to the ground. The satellite is expected to have an operational lifetime of 15 years.
Update SpaceX is standing down from a Thursday night launch attempt and targeting no earlier than Friday, March 29 for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 7:30 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 11:30 p.m. PT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about five minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.
This is the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, and eight Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
Thursday SpaceX is set for 22 Starlink launch
SpaceX is targeting Thursday, March 28 for a Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 7:30 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 11:24 p.m. PT. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Friday, March 29 starting at 7:30 p.m. PT.
A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about five minutes prior to liftoff. Watch live.
This is the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9, and eight Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
SpaceX Starlink launch on Thursday
SpaceX plans the launch of Starlink 7-18 from Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB) on the West Coast on Thursday evening.
This will continue with the building up the 6,000-unit satellite constellation and its 2.6 million users worldwide.
This will be the 11th Falcon 9 launch in March. The first year that SpaceX reached double digits in launches was 2017 with 18 flights for the whole year while in contrast there is a possibility of 12 Falcon 9 launches this month if the rest of this week’s flights happen as scheduled. While SpaceX continues plans to reach its stated goal of 148 launches this year.
