CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — On a rare double launch night, SpaceX will launch 29 Starlink satellites on Wednesday.
What You Need To Know
- The Falcon 9 rocket will send up the Starlink 6-81 mission from Space Launch Complex 40
- ULA is scheduled to launch the ViaSat-3 Flight 2 mission around the same time
The Falcon 9 rocket will send up the Starlink 6-81 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, stated SpaceX.
The launch window will open at 6:08 p.m. ET and it will close at 10:08 pm. ET. This means that SpaceX must launch during that time frame.
The 45th Weather Squadron gave a 95% chance of good liftoff conditions with no launch concerns.
Find out more about the weather criteria for a Falcon 9 launch.
ULA is scheduled to launch the ViaSat-3 Flight 2 mission around the same time.
Going up
The Falcon 9’s first-stage booster for this mission, called B1094, is still pretty new.
It has only had four launches so far.
After the stage separation, the first-stage rocket is set to land on the droneship Just Read the Instructions that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.
About the mission
SpaceX owns the Starlink company, which will see its 29 satellites go to low-Earth orbit.
Once deployed and in their orbit with the thousands of other Starlinks, they will provide internet service to many parts of Earth.
Dr. Jonathan McDowell, of Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has been documenting Starlink satellites.
Before this launch, McDowell recorded the following:
- 8,837 are in orbit
- 7,559 are in operational orbit
