Live coverage: SpaceX aims for 550th booster landing amid Saturday night flight

File: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in launch position at Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base at sunset. Image: SpaceX

SpaceX will attempt to complete its 550th successful booster landing as part of a late night launch from Vandenberg Space Force Station on Saturday.

The Starlink 15-12 mission will add another 27 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to SpaceX’s growing megaconstellation of broadband internet satellites in low Earth orbit.

Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for Dec. 13, during a window that opens at 9:20 p.m. PST (12:20 a.m. EST / 0520 UTC on Sunday, Dec. 14). The rocket will fly on a south-easterly trajectory upon leaving the pad.

Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.



SpaceX will launch the Starlink 15-12 mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1093. This will be its ninth flight after flying two missions for the Space Development Agency as well as six prior Starlink missions.

About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1093 will target an autonomous landing on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. If successful, this will be the 170th landing on this vessel and the 451st landing on a drone ship for SpaceX.