On Friday, November 8 at 10:14 p.m. PT, after a two-day delay, Falcon 9 launched 20 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.
The Starlink 9-10 mission added another 20 satellites to the growing megaconstellation in low Earth orbit, and 13 satellites that include Direct-to-Cell capabilities. The 13 Starlink satellites on board the mission featuring DTC capabilities bring the total number of such satellites launched to 285.
After the launch of DTC satellites in late October, Ben Longmier, the senior director of satellite engineering for SpaceX, said the company was closing in completing this initial segment of the DTC Starlink constellation.
“We will continue to launch and improve the service after that in order to improve the coverage and latency for our partner telcos around the world,” Longmier said in an October 30 post on X/Twitter. Some of those partners include T-Mobile in the U.S., One New Zealand in New Zealand and Rogers in Canada.
Once this flight is in the books, he said there will be just four more launches need to reach their goal.
Also in late October, Longmeir said they conducted the first DTC tests in Japan.
This was the 11th flight for the first stage booster, tail number B1081, supporting this mission, which previously launched NASA Crew-7, CRS-29, NROL-186, EarthCARE, Transporter-10, PACE and now five Starlink missions
SpaceX Wednesday Starlink Group 9-10 smallsats planned launch from Vandenberg including 13 Direct to Cell
SpaceX will launch of a batch of Starlink v2-mini satellites for their second generation high-speed low Earth orbit internet satellite constellation. The launch includes a mix of 13 Direct to Cell and 7 standard v2-mini satellites.
The cost of the launch is $69.75 million
The forecast calls for a temperature of 57°F, clear skies, 3% cloud cover and a wind speed of 8mph.
SpaceX launches Starlink Group 6-77 smallsats from Cape Canaveral
SpaceX succeeded in launching Starlink Group 6-77 that included 23 smalllsats after having to scrub the launch twice earlier this week. After just a few minute delay that was not explained, at 3:19 PM ET Falcon 9 launched the smallsats into Low Earth Orbit from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40.
The first delay occurred on Sunday, November 3, when a helium issue required the team to stand down.
On Thursday, November 7 at 3:19 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.
This was the third flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-9 and now two Starlink missions.
On Thursday, November 7 at 3:19 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.
This was the third flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-9 and now two Starlink missions.
SpaceX’s busy Wednesday with two Starlink satellites’ launches planned on East and West Coasts
SpaceX is targeting Wednesday, November 6 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23 Starlink Group 6-77 satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 3:39 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 7:39 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are available on Thursday, November 7 starting at 3:13 p.m. ET.
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 third flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-9 and one Starlink mission. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX orders “Hold, hold, hold” at two minutes left and scrubs Starlink Group 6-77 due to helium leak
All ready to launch SpaceX’s Starlink Group 6-77 of 23 smallsats on Sunday, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, when the call came to scrub with two minutes and 36 seconds remaining before liftoff. “Holt, hold, hold” came the word.
During SpaceX’s abbreviated launch webcast, a countdown hold was announced with the clock stopping 2 minutes, 36 seconds before liftoff.
“Hold, hold, hold. Stand down for helium stage one,” a launch director said.
“Standing down from today’s launch. Vehicle and payload are healthy,” SpaceX officials said in a 5:04 p.m. post-scrub tweet.
This afternoon, SpaceX officials announced the Starlink 6-77 backup launch opportunity is set for 4:31 p.m. Monday. The time slot will make it challenging as the Falcon 9 would take flight five hours before the next launch.
The next launch is the SpaceX-NASA CRS-31 resupply mission to the International Space Station which lifts off at 9:29 p.m. from pad 39A at adjacent Kennedy Space Center.
Tomorrow will be an interesting day for sure.
SpaceX plans Sunday launch of Group 6-77 of 23 Starlink smallsats
SpaceX is targeting Sunday, November 3 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 4:57 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 8:27 p.m. ET. If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Monday, November 4 starting at 4:31 p.m. ET.
According to weather officials, there’s a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch. The forecast calls for a temperature of 81°F, scattered clouds, 28% cloud cover and a wind speed of 16mph.
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 third flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched Crew-9 and one Starlink mission. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.