Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 25 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base
by Will Robinson-SmithSpaceX is scheduled to launch a Falcon 9 rockets from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California carrying 25 broadband internet satellites for SpaceX’s low Earth orbit megaconstellation.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled for 7:33:50 a.m. PDT (10:33:50 a.m. EDT / 1433:50 UTC).
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
SpaceX will launch the Starlink 17-31 mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number 1071. This will be its 32nd flight following the launch of missions, like NASA’s SWOT, five missions for the National Reconnaissance Office and five SmallSat rideshare missions.
A little less than 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1071 will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. If successful, this will be the 183rd landing on this vessel and the 585th booster landing for SpaceX.
Satellite deployment is expected a little more than an hour after the launch.