SpaceX is preparing to launch its latest batch of Starlink satellites from the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. The launch, which will take place on Friday morning, will add another 21 satellites to the mega constellation in low Earth orbit.
By the way, the rocket flying this mission, tail number B1067 in the SpaceX fleet, will also be making its 21st flight. Liftoff for the Starlink 8-3 mission from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Station is scheduled for 8:13 a.m. EDT (1213 UTC).
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning approximately one hour before liftoff.
The Falcon 9 rocket, B1067, flew one-fifth of its previous missions in support of NASA. It launched the Crew-3 and Crew-4 astronaut missions to the International Space Station, as well as two cargo missions as part of its Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract.
B1067 also launched 11 previous batches of Starlink satellites.
About eight and a half minutes after liftoff, B1067 will land on SpaceX's unmanned spacecraft, Just Read the Instructions. If successful, it will be the 88th rocket landing at JRTI and the 336th to date.
Among the 21 Starlink satellites currently in flight, 13 support SpaceX's direct-to-airframe capabilities. The Starlink 8-3 mission will be the 55th dedicated Starlink launch in 2024 and the 118th launch of the V2 Mini variety of the satellites.
Following payload deployment, there will be a total of 142 Starlink DTC satellites in orbit.
Musical Chairs Release Schedule
The mission comes near the end of a week in which major changes to SpaceX's launch manifest were announced. On Tuesday, NASA announced that the upcoming Crew-9 mission would be delayed from no earlier than August 18 to no earlier than September 24.
The move gives the agency more time to come to a conclusion about how to end Boeing's crewed flight test. Part of those deliberations includes choosing which vehicle to bring Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams back to Earth.
If NASA ultimately decides to use SpaceX's Crew Dragon, that would mean the Crew-9 mission would launch with just two people on board. NASA officials declined to identify who the two people would be flying.
Our target is no earlier than August 26th for the launch of Polaris Dawn. image.twitter.com/tkkiRke64a
— Polaris (@PolarisProgram) August 7, 2024
The change also means the commercial astronaut mission, Polaris Dawn, will now aim to launch its four-person crew on a five-day mission no earlier than Aug. 26. The CRS-31 Cargo Dragon flight will also move to a mid-October launch.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, SpaceX announced on social media that the hardware supporting Flight 5 of its Starship program is ready for launch, pending regulatory approval. The ambitious mission seeks to use the launch tower, nicknamed “Mechazilla,” to catch the Super Heavy rocket after stage separation.
Starship and the Flight 5 Super Heavy are ready to fly, pending regulatory approval. Additional propellant capture testing and testing of the Flight 6 vehicle are planned while awaiting clearance to fly. image.twitter.com/FFoGPEtztI
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 8, 2024
