SpaceX sent another batch of Starlink satellites into space today (August 10), as the company continues to build out its massive internet constellation.
At 8:50 a.m. EDT (12:50 p.m. GMT) today, a Falcon 9 rocket launched 21 Starlink spacecraft into orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida, following a day-long weather delay.
As is typical for such missions, the Falcon 9 first stage gently touched down on Earth about eight minutes after launch, landing aboard the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions, which was moored in the Atlantic Ocean.
This was the 21st time a first stage has traveled into space, According to SpaceX:. That’s just one mission short of SpaceX’s record for rocket reuse.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage placed the Starlink satellite into low Earth orbit about 64 minutes after liftoff as planned. According to SpaceX:.
relevant: Starlink Satellite Trains: How to See and Track Them in the Night Sky
Today’s launch marks SpaceX’s fourth launch in August, following the Starlink launches on August 2 and August 4, and the launch of a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on August 4.
The Falcon 9 was grounded for two weeks last month after a rare failure on July 11, prompting an investigation by SpaceX, the Federal Aviation Administration, and NASA. SpaceX identified the problem as a liquid oxygen leak on the upper stage of the rocket, traced to a crack in a line connected to a pressure sensor.
SpaceX resumed unmanned flights in late July. The company’s next crewed mission, Polaris Dawn, a venture funded by billionaire Jared Isaacman, is not expected to launch before August 26. NASA’s next ISS mission with SpaceX is Crew-9, scheduled to launch around September 24.
