Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 30th Starlink mission of 2024 on Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch on the 30th Starlink flight of the year. The mission will add 23 more satellites to the mega constellation.

Liftoff of the Starlink 6-55 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is set for 9:49 p.m. EDT (0149 UTC). The 45th Weather Squadron at the Cape forecast about 85 percent chance of favorable conditions at liftoff with some consideration for clouds in the area.

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

The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1067 in the SpaceX fleet, will be making its 19th flight. It previously supported two astronaut flights (Crew-3 and Crew-4), two cargo flights to the International Space Station (CRS-22 and CRS-25) as well as nine Starlink flights.

About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1067 will attempt to land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ (ASOG). If successful, this will be the 67th landing for ASOG and the 303rd booster landing to date.

Prior to this mission launch, SpaceX has launched 656 Starlink satellites in 2024 over 29 flights. According to astronomer and expert spacecraft tracker Jonathan McDowell, there are currently 5,896 Starlink satellites on orbit.

Earlier in the day, SpaceX confirmed that access to its satellite internet service is now available in Uruguay. The update on coverage comes on a day where the company also relocated its Crew Dragon spacecraft onboard the International Space Station and launched another Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base.