Nov. 7 (UPI) — SpaceX launched another batch of 23 Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low-Earth orbit atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday afternoon.
The 3:19 p.m. EST launch had been plagued by bad weather and technical problems, including a helium leak last Sunday that forced a scrub, and multiple weather issues that forced SpaceX to stand down the launch a few times this week prior to the successful Thursday mission.
This was the third trip for the first stage booster, capable of holding a million pounds of liquid kerosene that powers the Falcon 9. Known by its tail number B1085 in the SpaceX fleet, this rocket previously supported the Crew-9 astronaut mission to the International Space Station and Starlink 10-5.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, the reusable booster landed on the SpaceX drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions’ waiting in the Atlantic. This marked the 96th booster landing for this particular drone ship and the 362nd booster landing to date.
SpaceX also is targeting Friday for a Falcon 9 launch of 20 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Liftoff is set for 10:14 p.m. PT, with backup opportunities available until 1:26 a.m. PT on Saturday, November 9.
