SpaceX was informed it could resume flying the Falcon 9 rocket, after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) announcement on August 30.
A predawn Florida launch on Saturday, August 31 at 3:43 a.m. ET, where Falcon 9 launched 21 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.
This was the 18th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched CRS-24, OneWeb 1, SES 18 & 19, Eutelsat HOTBIRD-F1, and now 14 Starlink missions.
On Saturday, August 31 Starlink 9-5 mission lifted off just 65 minutes later at 1:48 PDT (4:48 a.m. EDT/0848 GMT) from Vandenberg’s Space Launch Complex 4 East. The mission delivered another 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 more Direct to Cell satellites, into orbit on what was the ninth flight of its Falcon 9 booster. It touched down on SpaceX’s drone ship Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean.
This was the ninth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-7, CRS-29, NROL-186, EarthCARE, Transporter 10, PACE, and now three Starlink missions.
SpaceX plans two Starlink smallsat launches Friday as FAA permits flights ‘provided all other license requirements are met’
Photo captured of fiery demise of Falcon 9 on Wednesday, August 28, by Satnews from SpaceX’s video stream.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation of the anomaly that occured on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, remains open, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Friday, August 30, 2024. The FAA grounded the Falcon 9 after failing an attempt to land back on Earth resulting in flames during a routine Starlink mission, forcing the company’s second grounding this year.
SpaceX is targeting Friday, August 30 for a Falcon 9 Group 9-5 launch of 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 9:58 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 1:48 a.m. PT.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 65°F, scattered clouds, 37% cloud cover and a wind speed of 12mph.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX.
This is the ninth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-7, CRS-29, NROL-186, EarthCARE, Transporter 10, PACE, and two 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.
Friday/Saturday, August 30-31, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 will launch Starlink smallsats Group 8-10 at 12:43 am – 2:39 am PDT from Space Launch Complex 40 Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Space Launch Complex 40 has witnessed the launch of 258 rockets, including 258 orbital launch attempts, while Cape Canaveral, FL, USA, has been the site for 971 rocket launches.
According to weather officials, there’s a 85% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch. The forecast calls for a temperature of 82°F, clear skies, 5% cloud cover and a wind speed of 10mph.
