SpaceX set to launch 21 Starlink satellites from California early Oct. 21
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is poised to start 21 Starlink online satellites to orbit from California early Saturday morning (Oct. 21).
The Falcon 9 is scheduled to elevate off from California’s Vandenberg House Power Base on Saturday at 3:47 a.m. EDT (0747 GMT 12:47 a.m. local California time). If SpaceX can’t strike that focus on, there are 3 backup prospects available among 4:23 a.m. EDT and 6:00 a.m. EDT (0823 to 1000 GMT).
SpaceX will webcast the start through its account on X (previously identified as Twitter). Protection will get started about 5 minutes prior to liftoff.
Linked: Starlink satellite train: How to see and observe it in the night sky
If all goes in accordance to prepare on Saturday morning, the Falcon 9’s initially phase will appear again to Earth properly, touching down at sea on the drone ship Of Study course I Continue to Like You about 8.5 minutes just after start.
It will be the 16th flight for this particular rocket’s 1st stage, in accordance to a SpaceX mission description. That’s one shy of the firm’s reuse history, which was established final month.
The 21 Starlink satellites, meanwhile, are scheduled to deploy from the Falcon 9’s higher phase about 62.5 minutes immediately after launch.
The liftoff will be the 75th orbital mission for SpaceX in 2023. The firm is aiming for 100 flights by the conclude of this yr and 144 in 2024.
About 60% of this year’s flights have been dedicated to creating out Starlink, SpaceX’s online megaconstellation. Starlink currently is composed of virtually 4,900 operational satellites, and that variety will proceed to expand much into the future.
