“SpaceX will launch 23 Starlink satellites today, January 7, with a liftoff scheduled for 4 PM.”
Less than one hour until today's launch of 23 @Starlink satellites from Florida, all systems are looking good and weather is 95% go → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 7, 2024
This evening at 4 PM EST, the Florida-based Cape Canaveral Space Force Station will host the Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites. Raising to a height of 2100 meters, the rocket is intended to launch 23 Starlink internet satellites into orbit.
On SpaceX’s YouTube account, you can witness the activity in real-time. About five minutes before the launch window opens, coverage will start.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 will land on the drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas” in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida around 8.5 minutes after liftoff if all goes according to plan.
Based on the flight parameters provided by SpaceX, this is the booster’s 16th launch and landing.
About 65.5 minutes after liftoff, the top stage of Falcon 9 will carry on with its mission, launching the 23 Starlink satellites into lower Earth orbit.
With plans for many more orbital launches in the upcoming months, this mission marks SpaceX’s third launch into orbit in 2024. The company’s representatives have declared that they intend to launch 144 times this year, breaking the previous record of 98 missions in 2023.
More spacecraft operations are planned for tonight, more precisely for early Monday morning (January 8). On Monday at 2:18 AM EST (0718 GMT), the United Launch Alliance plans to launch its Vulcan Centaur rocket for the first time, delivering a private Peregrine lander to the Moon. NASA TV has made it available for viewing on Space.com.“