SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center within the midnight hour on Monday so as to add one other 21 satellites to its orbiting Starlink fleet.
Liftoff of the Starlink 12-2 mission from pad 39A occurred on time at 12:35 a.m. EST (0535 UTC), simply 5 days and 7 hours for the reason that final launch from the historic launch web site, a brand new report turnaround at this pad for SpaceX.
Of the 21 satellites, 13 are outfitted for direct-to-cellphone connections. SpaceX’s U.S. cellphone companion, T-Mobile, just lately introduced it might be beginning a beta textual content messaging service by way of the direct-to-cell Starlink satellites.
Starlink 12-2 was launched by Falcon 9 first-stage booster 1080, making its 14th flight. The booster entered service in May 2023 with the launch of the Axiom 2 industrial house station mission. It has launched seven earlier batches of Starlink satellites.
Following stage separation, the booster continued downrange earlier than touchdown on the SpaceX droneship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ stationed within the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Bahamas.
The 21 Starlink satellites can be deployed from the Falcon 9 higher stage right into a 293 by 284 kilometer, 43-degree inclination orbit slightly over an hour after launch.
