SpaceX sends up Starlink satellites Sunday night, but rocket booster tips over atop drone ship
But after the first-stage booster successfully landed atop a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, a fire in the aft end of the rocket damaged one of the landing legs — and the booster tipped over, SpaceX reported.
"While disappointing to lose a rocket after a successful mission, the team will use the data to make Falcon even more reliable on ascent and landing," SpaceX officials said in a Monday morning tweet.
Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral
The Starlink 12-20 mission lifted off at 9:24 p.m. EST from Launch Complex 40. Sunday's launch marked the Falcon 9 first-stage booster's fifth — and final — flight, the company reported. This booster previously launched GOES-U, Maxar 3 and two Starlink missions.
Ten minutes before liftoff, rocket fueling was well underway at the pad. Behind the scenes, SpaceX crews rattled off a list of key countdown milestones before liftoff. T-minus:
7 minutes: Falcon 9 begins engine chill prior to launch.
1 minute: Command flight computer begins final prelaunch checks; propellant tank pressurization to flight pressure begins.
45 seconds: SpaceX launch director verifies 'go for launch.'
3 seconds: Engine controller commands engine ignition sequence to start.
0 seconds: Falcon 9 liftoff.
Following stage separation, the descending booster returned to Earth for a landing atop the drone ship Just Read the Instructions roughly 250 nautical miles off the Florida coast. Despite the booster mishap, SpaceX confirmed the 21 Starlink satellites successfully deployed.
The SpaceX mission marked the 20th orbital rocket launch of the year thus far from Florida's Space Coast.
Sunday's prime-time liftoff occurred during stellar meteorological conditions. The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron had forecasted a 90% chance of "go for launch" weather, with liftoff winds and cumulus clouds representing slim threats.
Looking past Sunday's liftoff, SpaceX is targeting early Wednesday morning for another Falcon 9 launch on a Starlink mission, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows.
The 4½-hour launch window extends from 1 a.m. to 5:31 a.m. Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage kicks off 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
Space is important to us and that's why we're working to bring you top coverage of the industry and Florida launches. Journalism like this takes time and resources. Please support it with a subscription here.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches Starlink satellites Sunday; booster tips over on ship
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