Spacex Launch at Cape Canaveral Sends 29 Starlink Satellites; Booster B1078 Returns to Droneship
SpaceX confirmed deployment of 29 Starlink satellites after a Falcon 9 liftoff late Sunday, a Spacex Launch that closed with a successful booster recovery and came amid a busy slate of missions and weather-driven schedule shifts. The confirmation, posted at 11: 03 p. m. EST on March 1 (0403 UTC), capped a night that followed an earlier morning launch the same day and left officials juggling additional launches later in the week.
Space Launch Complex 40 liftoff and mission timing
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 9: 56: 40 p. m. EST (0256: 40 UTC). The flight, designated Starlink 10-41, marked SpaceX’s 22nd mission of the year devoted to its broadband internet constellation in low Earth orbit. The mission also shifted the company back to a north-easterly trajectory after a stretch of mostly south-easterly departures that had lasted for the better part of four months.
Falcon 9 booster B1078 and its flight record
The first stage used for the mission carried the tail number 1078 and this launch was its 26th flight, following prior missions including Crew-6, Nusantara Lima and USSF-124. Less than 8. 5 minutes after liftoff, booster B1078 touched down on the droneship Just Read the Instructions, positioned in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina. That recovery was logged as the 152nd landing on that vessel and the 580th booster landing recorded by the company to date.
Weather forecast from the 45th Weather Squadron and effects on scheduling
The 45th Weather Squadron had forecast a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions for the Sunday night window, while noting a small chance of interference from cumulus clouds. Weather played a decisive role elsewhere in the program: SpaceX called off a scheduled Falcon 9 launch about a half-hour before liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Monday because of strong upper-level winds. That postponement forced officials to bypass a planned attempt on Tuesday due to poor weather in the offshore booster recovery area, and they aimed to try again on Wednesday to send 60 Starlink Internet satellites into orbit.
Satellite deployments and constellation totals
With the deployment of 29 Starlink satellites on the Starlink 10-41 mission and an earlier morning launch of 25 Starlink satellites the same day, SpaceX reported that it has deployed a total of 566 of its satellites so far this year. The combined evening and morning operations illustrate the rapid cadence of constellation flights and the effect of each launch on the company’s fleet totals.
Boeing-built communications satellites and Dragon cargo return
Separately, two communications spacecraft built by Boeing and owned by Eutelsat and Asia Broadcast Satellite were prepared to ride a Falcon 9 into orbit on Sunday, with imagery showing the pair stacked and ready for liftoff from Cape Canaveral. And closing out a 30-day mission, a SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule departed the International Space Station on Monday for its return trip to Earth, re-entering the atmosphere and completing a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Los Angeles.
