Dec. 30 (UPI) — In what is predicted to be SpaceX’s closing launch in a record-breaking 2024, the corporate introduced it had delayed its latest deployment of Starlink satellites to New Year’s Eve.
The launch, which was slated for early Monday, was scrubbed and rescheduled for Tuesday at 12:34 a.m. EST from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX stated the launch window can be open till 1:28 a.m.
SpaceX didn’t give a motive for the delay in its be aware on its web site.
“This is the sixteenth flight for the primary stage booster supporting this mission, which beforehand launched Crew-6, BlueBird-1, USSF-124, mPOWER-B, and 11 Starlink missions,” SpaceX stated.
If the launch goes off as deliberate, it is going to be SpaceX’s 134th orbital launch of the yr, shattering its outdated report of 96 units final yr, an almost 40% improve.
With its breakneck schedule, SpaceX has solely run into just a few hiccups. On July 12, the higher stage of a Falcon 9 report launched from the Vanderberg Space Force Base didn’t deploy 21 Starlink satellites shedding all 20 onboard.
Tuesday’s launch is predicted to place 21 new satellites into orbit, 13 with direct-to-cell functionality. It can be SpaceX’s third launch in three days, following a Starlink launch at Vanderberg and the four-satellite deployment for Astranis at Cape Canaveral.
