After successfully launching 53 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Friday, May 13, SpaceX is now aiming for back-to-back Starlink missions on consecutive days.
Elon Musk’s space exploration and satellite internet company plans to deploy another 53 Starlink satellites into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 4:40 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 14.
Next up: targeting a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites from SLC-40 in Florida in ~22.5 hours → https://t.co/4jKxxlPYvp
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 13, 2022
If weather conditions on Saturday prove unfavorable for a launch, a backup launch opportunity will be available on Sunday, May 15, at 4:12 p.m. ET.
The Falcon 9 rocket that will support the upcoming Starlink mission is a brand new booster, named “B1073-01.” Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will make its way back to Earth and autonomously land on SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Next up: targeting a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites from SLC-40 in Florida in ~22.5 hours → https://t.co/4jKxxlPYvp
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 13, 2022
You can watch SpaceX’s full webcast of the planned Starlink mission on the company’s website and YouTube. The webcast will begin approximately 10 minutes before liftoff.
While you wait, check out a replay of Friday’s Starlink mission launch below:
SpaceX on Thursday announced that Starlink is now available in 32 countries as it updated the availability map for its high-speed satellite internet service to show improved availability information by region. Earlier in the month, SpaceX launched a new portability feature that lets users take Starlink anywhere with them (on the same continent) for an extra $25 USD a month.
The space-based internet service is also making inroads north of the border, with the Canadian government putting up more than $1 million to bring Starlink internet to 1,162 separate households in Manitoba, and Quebec tapping the service for a whopping 10,000 rural homes in the province.
