Update May 6, 8:09 a.m. EDT (1209 UTC): SpaceX deployed all 24 Starlink satellites.
SpaceX launched its second Starlink mission in the month of May, this time from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
The Starlink 17-29 mission sent another 24 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit, adding to a constellation of more than 10,000 spacecraft. SpaceX’s first Starlink launch of the month was from Cape Canaveral on May 1.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East happened at 8:59:19 p.m. PDT (11:59:19 p.m. EDT / 0359:19 UTC). The Falcon 9 rocket flew on a south-southwesterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster B1081, making its 24th flight. Previous launches by this booster included the NASA Crew-7, PACE, and CRS-29 missions.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1081 landed on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ This was the 195th landing on this vessel and the 609 booster landing for SpaceX to date.
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