Update May 25, 8:53 a.m. EDT (1253 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of the 29 Starlink satellites.
The expansion of SpaceX’s Starlink network of internet relay satellites continued Monday with a Memorial Day launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Starlink 10-47 mission added another 29 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites to the low Earth orbit megaconstellation, which consists of more than 10,000 spacecraft. This was SpaceX’s 60th orbital flight of the year, consisting of 59 Falcon 9 rockets and one Falcon Heavy rocket.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 happened at 7:48 a.m. EDT (1148 UTC). The rocket flew on a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
On Sunday, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 85 percent chance for favorable weather during the launch window. Meteorologists said they’re watching a small chance for interference from cumulus clouds.
“The start of the window will still have a chance of showers forming in the Atlantic and moving onshore making the Cumulus Cloud Rule the primary concern of violation on launch day,” the Space Force meteorologists said in a forecast issued on Sunday.
SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage B1078, making its 28th flight. Its previous missions included NASA’s Crew-6, USSF-124, SES’ O3b mPOWER-B, BlueBird 1-5, Nusantara Lima (PSN N5), and 22 Starlink deliveries.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1078 landed on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ positioned in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina This was the 151st landing for this vessel and the 614th booster landing to date for SpaceX.
Meanwhile, the second stage shut down eight minutes and 39 seconds into flight and enter a coast phase, before short second burn at T+52 minutes. The stack of Starlink satellites deployed 61 minutes and 26 seconds after launch.
