Early morning fog was not a problem this time when on Friday, January 24 at 6:07 a.m. PT, Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
All photos by Satnews.
This mission marked a turnaround record for SLC-4E at 2 days, 22 hours, 21 minutes, and 10 seconds, just over 17 hours faster then the previous record set by SpaceX.
This was the 23rd flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6, DART, SDA-0B, Iridium OneWeb, Transporter-7, NROL-113, NROL-167, NROL-149, and now 15 Starlink missions.
SpaceX Starlink Group 11-6 launch of 23 smallsats still on Friday from California
SpaceX is targeting Friday, January 24 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 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 6:07 a.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 9:29 a.m. PT. If needed, additional launch opportunities are also available Saturday, January 25 starting 6:08 a.m. PT.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 55°F, scattered clouds, 35% cloud cover and a wind speed of 5mph.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This is the 23rd flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Sentinel-6, DART, SDA-0B, Iridium OneWeb, Transporter-7, NROL-113, NROL-167, NROL-149, and 14 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.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
SpaceX plans a Friday launch of Starlink Group 11-6 smallsats
SpaceX will one again be launching a batch of smallsats for the Starlink Group 11-6 to low Earth orbit to continue to build their mega-constellation to provide a worldwide space-based internet communication system at a cost of $52 million. The launch is scheduled for January 24 @ 5:54 am – 10:25 am from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, California.
Space Launch Complex 4E has witnessed the launch of 177 rockets, including 177 orbital launch attempts, while Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA, has been the site for 789 rocket launches.
The forecast calls for a temperature of 57°F, broken clouds, 64% cloud cover and a wind speed of 7mph.
