On Tuesday, February 18 at 6:21 p.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 23 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and landed for the first time off the coast of The Bahamas. “Our new landing collaboration with The Bahamas will enable Falcon 9 to launch to new orbital trajectories,” SpaceX wrote via X. All photos by Satnews.
Deputy Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Isaac Chester Cooper, said during a SpaceX stream, …”It’s the first international landing in the Bahamas — in the Exuma sound… It puts us at the cutting edge of of innovation, and it gives us a small country of 400,000 people an opportunity to participate in the aerospace industry. This is huge.”
This was the 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Ax-2, Euclid, Ax-3, CRS-30, Astra 1P, NG-21, and now 10 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, completing our first landing off the coast of The Bahamas.SpaceX recently signed a deal with the Bahamas that will open new opportunities to the company.
SpaceX’s Tuesday launch of 23 Starlink Group 10-12 smallsats at the Cape
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SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, February 18 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 6:00 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 10:00 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Wednesday, February 19, starting at 6:00 p.m. ET.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about ten minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This is the 16th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Ax-2, Euclid, Ax-3, CRS-30, Astra 1P, NG-21, and 9 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of The Bahamas.
There is the possibility that residents of and visitors to The Bahamas may hear one or more sonic booms during the landing, but what may be experienced will depend on weather and other conditions.
