Live coverage: SpaceX poised for first launch of 2022

SpaceX’s first launch of 2022 is scheduled for Thursday afternoon, Jan. 6, when a Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift off with 49 more Starlink internet satellites.

Launch from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT), and the Falcon 9 will track southeast from Florida’s Space Coast just north of the Bahamas, rather than the more typical northeasterly route to orbit.

We will provide live coverage of the countdown and launch beginning at 3:45 p.m. EST (2045 GMT).

This will be SpaceX’s first launch of the year, following a record launch rate in 2021 with 31 Falcon 9 missions from the company’s three active launch pads in Florida and California.

The mission, designated Starlink 4-5, will aim to release the 49 Starlink satellites into an elliptical orbit about 15 minutes after liftoff. The Falcon 9 will fly with a reused first stage booster, numbered B1062, flying on its fourth mission to space.

Read our mission preview story for details.

ROCKET: Falcon 9 (B1062.4)

PAYLOAD: 49 Starlink satelllites

LAUNCH SITE: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

LAUNCH DATE: Jan. 6, 2022

LAUNCH TIME: 4:49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT)

WEATHER FORECAST: 80% probability of acceptable weather

BOOSTER RECOVERY: “A Shortfall of Gravitas” drone ship north of the Bahamas

LAUNCH AZIMUTH: Southeast

TARGET ORBIT: 210 miles by 130 miles (339 kilometers by 210 kilometers), 53.2 degrees inclination

LAUNCH TIMELINE:

T+00:00: Liftoff T+01:12: Maximum aerodynamic pressure (Max-Q) T+02:32: First stage main engine cutoff (MECO) T+02:36: Stage separation T+02:44: Second stage engine ignition T+02:52: Fairing jettison T+06:49: First stage entry burn ignition (three engines) T+07:09: First stage entry burn cutoff T+08:27: First stage landing burn ignition (one engine) T+08:49: First stage landing T+08:50: Second stage engine cutoff (SECO 1) T+15:31: Starlink satellite separation

MISSION STATS:

135th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2010 143rd launch of Falcon rocket family since 2006 4th launch of Falcon 9 booster B1062 119th Falcon 9 launch from Florida’s Space Coast 136th launch overall from pad 39A 42nd SpaceX launch overall from pad 39A 79th flight of a reused Falcon 9 booster 34th dedicated Falcon 9 launch with Starlink satellites 1st Falcon 9 launch of 2022 1st launch by SpaceX in 2022 1st orbital launch based out of Cape Canaveral in 2022