A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, reflected in the waters of the Kennedy Space Center Turnbasin. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.
SpaceX launched of a batch of Starlink satellites on Tuesday, its first early-evening flight since the FAA lifted restrictions on commercial launches prompted by the government shutdown.
The Starlink 6-94 mission lifted off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, at 7:12 p.m. EST (0012 UTC), carrying 29 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet service. It was the 99th launch from the Florida spaceport this year.
At one point, this mission was slated to fly after 10 p.m. EST due to the daytime curfew on commercial launches imposed by the FAA as it struggled to maintain air traffic control during the recent government shutdown. Those restrictions, which did not affect government missions, were lifted Monday.
The launch times for the previous two Starlink missions on November 14/15 from the Florida spaceport were shifted until after 10 p.m. EST to accommodate the restrictions.
The Falcon 9 streaks away on a south-easterly trajectory from the Space Coast carrying 29 Starlink satellites. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now.
Meteorologists with the 45th Weather Squadron based at Cape Canaveral issued a forecast Monday predicting a 95-percent chance of acceptable conditions for launch.
Upon liftoff, the Falcon 9 pitched onto a south-easterly trajectory. Falcon 9 booster B1085, making its 12th flight, landed on the drone ship ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ stationed in the Atlantic east of the Bahamas.
In a social media post, SpaceX confirmed successful deployment of the 29 Starlink satellites the Falcon 9 second stage about one hour, five minutes after launch.