Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 23 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center

File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Launch Complex 39A ahead of the Starlink 6-51 mission on April 17, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now

SpaceX is preparing to launch its latest batch of Starlink satellites, increasing its mega-constellation in low Earth orbit. The mission comes as the company is simultaneously working towards the launch of a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station over the weekend.

Liftoff of the Starlink 10-6 mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is set for 12:19 a.m. EDT (0419 UTC). Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.

Coming into the launch opportunity, the 45th Weather Squadron at Patrick Space Force Base forecast 95 percent favorable conditions at liftoff. The only potential concern is a violation of the cumulus cloud rule. If SpaceX needs to pivot to its 24-hour launch delay, the weather outlook decreases to 80 percent favorable conditions.

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1078 in the SpaceX fleet, will be launching for a 12th time. It previously launched the Crew-6 astronaut mission to the ISS, the USSF-124 payload and eight batches of Starlink satellites.

A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1078 will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ If successful, this will be the 78th landing on ASOG and the 333rd booster landing to date.

The Starlink 10-6 mission will add another 23 Starlink satellites to network. Prior to the launch, more than 6,800 total Starlink satellites have been sent to LEO. According to Jonathan McDowell, an expert orbital tracker and astrophysicist, there are more than 6,200 Starlink satellites in operation currently.

Return to customer missions

The Starlink launch is the prelude to another important mission for SpaceX. It is set to launch a Northrop Grumman-built Cygnus spacecraft on a trip to dock with the ISS. This will be the second out of three planned times that SpaceX launches a Cygnus spacecraft while Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace continue work on the Antares 330 rocket, which is set to debut in 2025.

This mission, dubbed NG-21, is notable because it will be the first time since the July 11 in-flight mishap that SpaceX will launch a payload not consisting of its own Starlink satellites. SpaceX successfully launched three Falcon 9 missions over the previous weekend in a demonstration of it’s ability to return to reliable launches.

The launch for NASA comes as the agency is preparing to send three of its astronauts as well as a Russian cosmonaut to the ISS for a planned six-month crew rotation mission, called Crew-9. That mission is currently scheduled to launch no earlier than Aug. 18.

Other SpaceX launch customers are also eagerly awaiting their turn for launch aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The commercial astronaut mission, Polaris Dawn, is looking forward to its free-flyer mission onboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft named Resilience.

Satellite providers, like Maxar Technologies are also queued up for their turn. It shared on Thursday afternoon that its next two WorldView Legion satellites arrived recently in Florida in preparation for the Maxar 2 mission to a mid-inclination orbit.

Drumroll, please: Our next two WorldView Legion satellites have arrived in Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, and are being prepped for the Maxar 2 mission on a @SpaceX Falcon 9! These will be our first satellites in mid-inclination orbit. Details:… pic.twitter.com/ispSSr6w8c

— Maxar Technologies (@Maxar) August 1, 2024