SpaceX launches Falcon 9 on Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral; booster lands for 23rd time
SpaceX's Starlink 6-74 mission lifted off at 9:52 p.m. from Launch Complex 40. The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron had pegged the odds of "go for launch" weather at greater than 95%, citing a warm, dry weather pattern at the spaceport.
Of note, the mission marked the Falcon 9 first-stage booster's 23rd flight, SpaceX reported. The booster previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and 18 Starlink missions.
Cape Canaveral: Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral
Following stage separation, the rocket booster returned to Earth and touched down atop the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean roughly 8½ minutes after liftoff.
Hours before the launch, Blue Origin crews conducted a New Glenn rocket upper-stage engine test at Launch Complex 36, just south of SpaceX's twin Falcon booster landing zones at the Space Force installation.
"Today, we completed a full duration 15-second hotfire test of the upper stage for our NG-2 mission. This time, we achieved enhanced performance from the BE-3U engine, increasing the maximum thrust from 173,000 lbf to 175,000 lbf per engine, further expanding New Glenn's capabilities for our customers," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a tweet.
Looking ahead on the Eastern Range schedule, SpaceX will try to launch a Falcon 9 on another Starlink mission on Sunday, April 27, according to the Space Coast Office of Tourism. Target liftoff time: 10:04 p.m.
Then on Monday, April 28, United Launch Alliance will again attempt to launch an Atlas V rocket with five solid rocket boosters, deploying the first payload of Amazon's Project Kuiper internet production satellites into low-Earth orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
That ULA two-hour launch window opens at 7 p.m. Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage will kick off about 90 minutes before the SpaceX liftoff and two hours before the ULA launch 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 booster lands for 23rd time on Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral
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