Update 10:19 PM EDT:
SpaceX has adjusted the launch time of the Starlink mission to 6-17. The new T-0 launch time is now 23:38 EDT (0338 UTC). The next available launch time will be September 20 at 12:28 PM EDT (0428 UTC).
Original story:
SpaceX will push the boundaries of booster reusability on Tuesday night with the planned launch of the Falcon 9 using a first-stage rocket that will make its 17th flight. Launch from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral with 22 satellites for the Starlink internet network is scheduled for 22:47 EDT (0247 UTC).
Booster serial number 1060 will make a record 17th flight for the Starlink 6-17 mission. Earlier this year, SpaceX certified its fleet of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters for up to 20 flights.
The booster first flew in June 2020 carrying the GPS 3-3 satellite for the US Space Force and went on to fly the Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, Intelsat G-33/G-34 and Transporter-6 plus 11 Starlink delivery missions. flights.
Space Force meteorologists are watching closely as a weather front stalls south of Florida’s Space Coast and moves into a storm off the Atlantic coast. In the forecast issued on Monday, they predicted a 60 percent chance of acceptable weather for the launch. The main problem is the violation of the cumulus cloud rule. As the coastal storm develops, conditions worsen if the daily launch slips, with only a 30 percent chance of acceptable weather.
It will be the 20th launch of the so-called Starlink V2 mini satellites, which are larger and have four times the bandwidth of previous versions. The full-size V2 Starlink satellites are to be launched by SpaceX’s fully reusable Starship vehicle, but the delayed Starship debut has led the company to create a condensed version of the satellites so they can be launched on the Falcon 9.
