29.03.2025
Potential double-header: SpaceX rocket launch set for Sunday afternoon from Cape Canaveral
- SpaceX will launch a Starlink mission from the Space Coast on Sunday afternoon.
- The launch window opens at 3:16 p.m. EDT and closes at 7:45 p.m. EDT.
- The first-stage booster will land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Space Coast has been quiet lately, with rocket launches down to one per week. This is about to change as SpaceX plans for not only a Starlink launch Sunday afternoon, but also a Monday night astronaut launch.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, liftoff of the Starlink mission is set to occur between 3:16 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. EDT Sunday. SpaceX has yet to confirm the mission. SpaceX usually targets the beginning of the launch window, however weather conditions at the launch and first-stage landing locations play a role in timing.
The mission is SpaceX's next batch of Starlink internet satellites, which provide internet in even some of the most remote places on Earth to paying customers.
No Space Coast sonic booms will be heard. The first-stage will land on a drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.
Quelle: Florida Today
----
Update: 1.04.2025
.
SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites to orbit on 1st half of spaceflight doubleheader
Liftoff occurred at 3:52 p.m. ET on Monday (March 31).
SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast on Monday (March 31).
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying 28 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 3:52 p.m. EST (1952 GMT) on Monday.
To plan, the Falcon 9's first stage came back to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff. It touched down on the drone ship "Just Read the Instructions," which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 17th launch and landing for this particular booster, which had flown 10 previous Starlink missions, according to a SpaceX mission description.
The Falcon 9's upper stage continued to haul the Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), where they were set to be deployed about 65 minutes after liftoff.
Starlink is the largest satellite constellation ever deployed — and it's continuously growing, as Monday's launch demonstrated. There are currently more than 7,100 active Starlink spacecraft in LEO, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.
The Starlink launch was the first half of a planned SpaceX doubleheader on Monday. The second half is the Fram2 astronaut mission, which is scheduled to lift off at 9:46 p.m. EDT (0146 GMT on April 1). You can watch the launch live here at Space.com.
Fram2 will send four astronauts into orbit for three to five days. They'll circle over both of Earth's poles, a trajectory no human spaceflight mission has ever taken before.
Quelle: SC