Live coverage: SpaceX aims for 300th Falcon booster landing during Starlink mission

A Falcon 9 stands ready for a Starlink mission at Cape Canaveral’s pad 40. File photo: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now.

SpaceX is preparing for a Falcon 9 launch that will set up the company to complete its 300th booster landing to date. The Starlink 6-53 mission will also mark the 30th orbital launch from Florida in 2024.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is set for 6:17 p.m. EDT (2217 UTC). The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a greater than 95 percent chance of favorable weather at liftoff.

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1078, will be making its ninth launch. It previously launched NASA’s Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station, USSF-124 and five Starlink flights.

About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, B1078 will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions.’ In addition to this being the 300th Falcon booster landing overall, it will be the 79th landing for JRTI and the 233rd droneship landing to date.

The 23 Starlink satellites onboard this mission will add to the 5,851 currently on orbit, according to astronomer and expert orbital tracker, Jonathan McDowell. So far, 610 Starlink satellites were launched to low Earth orbit in 2024 over 27 missions. Separation of the satellites is expected to occur an hour and five minutes into flight.