SpaceX is keeping up cadence with Starlink Group 6-4 mission

Written by Copernical Team Sunday, 04 June 2023 13:34

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Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jun 05, 2023

At 8:20 a.m. EDT (1220 UTC) on Sunday, a Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 of SpaceX's brand-new "V2 Mini" internet satellites for its Starlink communications network from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida. The rocket went upright at 3:20 a.m. earlier this morning and was originally scheduled to launch before sunrise at 5:56 a.m. EDT (0

Commercial UAV Expo | Sept 5-7, 2023 | Las Vegas

SpaceX is keeping up cadence with Starlink Group 6-4 mission
by Charles Briggs
Cape Canaveral FL (SPX) Jun 05, 2023

At 8:20 a.m. EDT (1220 UTC) on Sunday, a Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 of SpaceX's brand-new "V2 Mini" internet satellites for its Starlink communications network from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.

The rocket went upright at 3:20 a.m. earlier this morning and was originally scheduled to launch before sunrise at 5:56 a.m. EDT (0956 UTC), however SpaceX ran out of time to complete final preparations.

If the weather cooperates, a little more than 3 and a half hours later, SpaceX is slated to launch an uncrewed Dragon capsule resupply mission to the International Space Station from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, at 12:12 p.m. EDT (1612 UTC) with only a 40% chance of acceptable weather conditions.

It would be the quickest turnaround between two space launches on Florida's Space Coast since 1966 if CRS-28 launched as planned.

Compared to its earlier Starlink spacecraft, SpaceX's V2 Mini satellites are more powerful. The company claims that the new satellites have increased broadband capacity and are equipped with Hall thruster electric propulsion systems, which produce more than twice as much thrust as those used on earlier models.

The 84th operational Starlink mission, Starlink Group 6-4, brings the total number of launched Starlink satellites to 4,543, with more than 4,100 Starlink satellites currently in orbit.

The Falcon 9 booster supporting this mission was B1078. Having previously supported Crew-6 and O3b mPower 3 and 4, the booster flew and landed for the third time.

Eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the booster successfully landed on the drone ship Just Read the Instructions (JRTI), 400 miles (640 kilometers) downrange northeast of the Bahamas.