SpaceX Sunday Starlink liftoff precedes similar Vandenberg, California, launch target by hours


Kicking off a Florida-California SpaceX scheduled launch doubleheader, a Falcon 9 rocket vaulted off the pad Sunday night on another Starlink satellite mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The 230-foot rocket lifted off at 7:05 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 40, deploying 23 more Starlink internet-beaming satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Fifty-five minutes before liftoff, a SpaceX tweet had announced, “all systems are looking good and weather is 95% favorable.”

Then a few minutes after liftoff, SpaceX officials tweeted a video showing separation of the fairing halves that comprised the Falcon 9’s nose cone.

These fairings recently supported USSF-124 only 25 days ago, marking the fastest turn-around time for fairing reusability to date,” SpaceX announced.

SpaceX launched the Space Force’s classified USSF-124 mission Feb. 14 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. That Falcon 9 lifted two secretive Missile Defense Agency satellites and four Space Development Agency satellites into orbit, a Space Force press release said.

SpaceX’s Sunday mission preceded a second Starlink Falcon 9 launch attempt from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. That West Coast mission was initially targeted for 10:13 p.m. EDT, or three hours and eight minutes after the Cape Canaveral liftoff.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 23 Starlink satellites rises into the sky Sunday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

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The Florida Falcon 9’s first-stage booster landed atop the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions out on the Atlantic Ocean, wrapping up its 11th mission.

The booster had previously launched Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, CRS-28, Intelsat G-37, NG-20 and four Starlink missions, SpaceX reported.

For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Sunday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Sunday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here.) Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX Sunday Falcon 9 launch sends satellites into orbit from Cape



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