In the pre-dawn hours of a Friday in May, a Falcon 9 rocket rose from Cape Canaveral in Florida carrying 22 of SpaceX's newer, smaller Starlink satellites toward orbit, where they will join the company's growing constellation of internet relays. Its path had been uncertain for weeks, first pushed back from April and then slipped again, as the rhythm of rocketry met the unpredictable moods of weather. The booster returned to rest on a drone ship in the Atlantic, one more chapter in a story of hardware being flown, recovered, and flown again. It marks an ordinary-seeming step in an extraordinary
SpaceX Launches 22 Second-Generation Starlink Satellites After Two Delays
A booster on its fifth flight, fairings on their eighth
Mark
So this is a routine launch, basically. Why does it deserve attention?
Mimi
Routine is part of the story. A booster on its fifth flight, fairings on their eighth, and the mission count at 32 for the year. Reuse is the pattern here.
Mark
The launch was delayed twice, though. Does that matter?
Mimi
It slipped from April, then from Thursday. On Friday it moved from 1:31 to 2:31 a.m., the third of four windows that morning.
Luke
Careful on the reason. The report says the push was "seemingly" due to weather. That's not confirmed, and nothing is said about why April slipped.
Mark
What actually went right?
Mimi
Liftoff at 2:31 a.m., and the booster landed on Shortfall of Gravitas about 8 minutes 30 seconds in.
Luke
The report says SpaceX will attempt to retrieve the fairing halves with the drone ship Doug. That's a plan, not a result. We don't know yet if it worked.
Mark
And the satellites themselves?
Mimi
22 second-generation mini Starlink units. Beyond that count, the piece doesn't describe their capabilities.
Luke
Right, so any claim about what they'll do for internet coverage would go beyond this reporting.
Mark
So what's solid?
Mimi
The launch time, the payload count, the booster landing, and the mission tallies: 231st overall, 32nd this year.
Le Pouls
- The launch slipped twice, first from April and then from Thursday, leaving the schedule restless and uncertain.
- Friday's attempt was moved from 1:31 a.m. to a later window among four possible openings, with weather pressing on the timing.
- The Falcon 9 lifted off at 2:31 a.m. Eastern carrying 22 second-generation Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40.
- The booster touched down on the drone ship Shortfall of Gravitas about eight and a half minutes after liftoff, on its fifth flight.
- Recovery crews were set to retrieve both fairing halves with the drone ship Doug, reused hardware on its eighth mission.
- This was SpaceX's 32nd launch of 2023 and its 231st overall, a pace that keeps the network growing.
In the pre-dawn hours of a Friday in May, a Falcon 9 rocket rose from Cape Canaveral in Florida carrying 22 of SpaceX's newer, smaller Starlink satellites toward orbit, where they will join the company's growing constellation of internet relays. Its path had been uncertain for weeks, first pushed back from April and then slipped again, as the rhythm of rocketry met the unpredictable moods of weather. The booster returned to rest on a drone ship in the Atlantic, one more chapter in a story of hardware being flown, recovered, and flown again. It marks an ordinary-seeming step in an extraordinary project: a network being stitched together one launch at a time.
At 2:31 on a Friday morning, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Riding inside were 22 second-generation mini Starlink satellites, headed for orbit as part of SpaceX's effort to blanket the world with internet service. UPI photographer Joe Marino was on hand to record the moment.
The road to liftoff was not smooth. The mission had first been set for April, then slipped to Thursday, and then moved again. On Friday the first target of 1:31 a.m. gave way to the third of four possible openings that morning, apparently because of the weather. The reporting does not say definitively what caused the shifts, nor what drove the earlier April delay.
Once airborne, the flight went as planned. About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the first-stage booster returned and landed on the drone ship Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic, marking its fifth flight. SpaceX also aimed to recover both halves of the payload fairing, the protective shell that guards the satellites on the way up, using a second drone ship, Doug. Those fairing halves were on their eighth mission, a reminder of how routinely the company now reuses its hardware.
The launch was SpaceX's 231st mission overall and its 32nd of 2023, a pace that, with the year not yet halfway through, works out to a launch roughly every four days. What comes next is the confirmation that Doug recovered the fairing halves and the continued rollout of these smaller second-generation satellites.
At 2:31 on Friday morning, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It carried 22 second-generation mini Starlink satellites, bound for orbit as part of SpaceX's Starlink internet network. UPI photographer Joe Marino was there to capture the launch.
The liftoff came after a stop-and-start run. According to Spaceflight Now, the mission was first scheduled for April, then slipped to Thursday, and then moved again. On Friday the launch was initially aimed for 1:31 a.m., but it was pushed to the third of four possible launch opportunities that morning, seemingly because of weather conditions. The reporting does not say definitively what caused the shift, and the cause of the earlier delay from April is not given.
The flight itself went to plan. About 8 minutes and 30 seconds after liftoff, the rocket's first-stage booster came back to Earth and landed on the drone ship Shortfall of Gravitas, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the booster's fifth flight. Its earlier missions were CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, Intelsat IS-40e and one previous Starlink mission.
Recovery was not limited to the booster. SpaceX also planned to retrieve both halves of the payload fairing, the protective shell that surrounds the satellites on the way up, using a second drone ship, Doug. These fairing halves were on their eighth mission, another sign of how routinely the company now reuses its hardware.
The launch also carried some tallies. It was SpaceX's 231st mission overall and its 32nd of 2023. With the year not yet halfway through, that pace points to a launch roughly every four days on average, though that figure is simple arithmetic on the reported count and not a number from the source.
What to watch next: confirmation that the fairing halves were recovered by Doug, and the continued rollout of the second-generation Starlink satellites, which are the smaller versions flown on this mission.
Citations marquantes
The launch was delayed twice, first from April and then from Thursday, and moved to the third of four Friday opportunities, seemingly due to weather.— Spaceflight Now, as cited by UPI
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