SpaceX launches 29 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
by Will Robinson-SmithUpdate March 19, 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 UTC): SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 29 Starlink satellites.
SpaceX completed its 29th Starlink mission of the year, which launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday morning.
The Starlink 10-33 mission added another 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to the low Earth orbit megaconstellation, which now consists of more than 10,000 spacecraft.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 10:20 a.m. EDT (1420 UTC). The Falcon 9 rocket flew on a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a mixed outlook for a launch on Thursday morning. Launch weather officers predict that there will be a 75 percent chance for favorable conditions at the opening of the window. That drops to 60 percent favorable by the end of the window.
“Although dry conditions will persist today, coastal showers may develop on Thursday, some of which could move near the launch pad during the primary launch window,” meteorologists wrote on Wednesday.
“Additionally, mid-level clouds may approach the region early Thursday, possibly overlapping with the primary launch window, as well. Given this, there is a low risk of a Cumulus Cloud Rule and Thick Cloud Layers rule violation Thursday morning.”
SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1077. This was its 27th flight after launching missions, like NASA’s Crew-5, CRS-28, and NG-20.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1077 landed on the drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions’, positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the 154th landing on this vessel and the 588th booster landing to date.
The 29 Starlink satellites were deployed from the rocket’s upper stage a little more than an hour after liftoff.