SpaceX is preparing to launch the Falcon 9 rocket 14 years to the day the rocket debuted from the same pad. Since that day, SpaceX has launched more than 340 Falcon 9 rockets, 285 of which used previously flown boosters.
Tuesday night’s launch is scheduled to launch from pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:16 p.m. EDT (0216 UTC).
Spaceflight Now will have a live stream about an hour before launch.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster, terminal number B1067 in the SpaceX fleet, will launch for the twentieth time. It previously supported the flights of two Crew Dragon astronaut missions, two Cargo Dragon resupply missions to the International Space Station, and 10 previous Starlink delivery missions.
About 8.5 minutes after launch, B1067 lands on a SpaceX ‘Just read the instructions’ drone. It will be the 83rd landing using JRTI and the 316th booster landing to date.
There are 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites on board the Falcon 9 flight, including 13 that are equipped with direct-to-cell phone capabilities.
In a post on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), SpaceX founder Elon Musk said on June 2: “Starlink hit a new internal average latency record of 28ms yesterday,” adding later that “average latency for Starlink Internet in the US will get below 20 ms.”
The update to the network’s announced capabilities came a day after Michael Nicolls, SpaceX’s vice president of Starlink Engineering, shared a post summarizing the impact of SpaceX’s 11 Starlink launches in May.
He noted that Starlink’s 26 direct-to-cell satellites represented more than eight percent of what they need for initial cell service with partner T-Mobile. This suggests that SpaceX needs about 325 such Starlink satellites to meet this goal.
For quite a month @Starlink thanks to the Falcon’s accelerating launch rate!
+ 11 starts
+ 221 Ku satellites – over 20 Tbps fronthaul capacity
+ 26 direct-to-cell satellites – more than 8% of the satellites needed for initial direct-to-cell service pic.twitter.com/pwUj8kdWUj— Michael Nicolls (@michaelnicollsx) June 1, 2024
Starship Flight 4
The launch comes on the same day that the Federal Aviation Administration approved a launch license modification that allows SpaceX to move forward with Flight 4 of its Starship rocket. The agency noted that SpaceX “met all safety and other licensing requirements for this test flight.”
The FAA also included language in its statement that suggests SpaceX may not have to wait that long if things fall according to certain parameters outlined by SpaceX.
“As part of its license modification application, SpaceX proposed three scenarios involving starship entry that would not require an investigation in the event of a vehicle loss,” the FAA said in a statement. “The FAA approved the scenarios as test damage exemptions after evaluating them as part of a flight safety and flight risk analysis and confirming that they meet public safety requirements.”
“If there is another anomaly with the Starship, an investigation may be warranted, just like when there is an anomaly with the Super Heavy missile.
The FAA also authorized SpaceX to perform either a controlled or uncontrolled return of the starship. However, he said SpaceX must warn the FAA before launch if it chooses the second option.
