SpaceX to launch 24 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is getting ready to launch its third Falcon 9 rocket in lower than 41 hours. On deck is the flight of the Starlink 17-11 mission, which can take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base Thursday night time.

Liftoff of the mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for 9:17 p.m. PDT (12:17 a.m. EDT / 0417 UTC). The rocket will deploy 24 of SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini broadband web satellites into low Earth orbit just a little greater than an hour into the mission.

Spaceflight Now could have dwell protection starting about half-hour previous to liftoff.

The mission will characteristic first stage booster B1082, making its sixteenth flight following the launches of NROL-145, USSF-62, OneWeb Launch 20 and 12 earlier batches of Starlink satellites.

Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1082 will carry out an autonomous touchdown on the SpaceX drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You. If all goes nicely, this would be the 153rd touchdown with this vessel and the 512th booster touchdown to this point.

The mission will probably be SpaceX’s 475th launch of a flight-proven booster and the 540th general launch of a Falcon 9 rocket.