KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — SpaceX’s launch of nearly 30 Starlink satellites on Thursday night will be the 100th mission that has taken off from Florida this year, breaking last year’s 93.
What You Need To Know
- Last year’s record of 93 was already been broken with the Blue Origin launch of NASA’s Mars mission
- There are now more than 9,000 Starlink satellites in orbit
SpaceX’s launch of nearly 30 Starlink satellites on Thursday night will be the 100th mission that has taken off from Florida this year, breaking last year’s 93.
Last year’s record of 93, which broke the previous year’s record of 74, was already been broken with the Blue Origin launch of NASA’s ESCAPADE Mars mission last week. That was the 94th launch of the year.
On Thursday morning, Col. Brian L. Chatman, who is the Space Launch Delta 45 installation commander, said the Sunshine State is “breaking records”.
“We are breaking records across the board. One hundred launches is a complete game changer on the Space Coast. We’re identifying efficiencies, getting additional mass to orbit. It couldn’t be a more exciting time to be out here. … When you look at the total launch count across the world, we have launched more off the Space Coast than the entire world combined. If you take Vandenberg out of the count, it’s an amazing time to be here,” he told Spectrum News.
Chatman is also the director of the Eastern Range at Patrick Space Force Base and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The 100th launch
The Falcon 9 rocket will send up Starlink 6-78 mission from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, stated SpaceX.
The launch window is currently set at 10:21 p.m. ET and will close at 2:01 a.m. ET, Friday.
The 45th Weather Squadron is giving about a 95% chance of good liftoff conditions with no weather concerns.
Going up
This marks the 23rd mission for the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster B1080.
While most of its missions are Starlink ones, it has launched two crewed missions.
After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket should land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.
About the mission
The 30 satellites from the Starlink company — that is owned by SpaceX — will be heading to low-Earth orbit to join the thousands already there.
Their purpose is to provide internet service to many parts of Earth.
Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been recording Starlink satellites.
Before this launch, McDowell logged the following:
- 9,021 are in orbit
- 7,778 are in operational orbit
Jon Shaban, Anthony Leone
Source link