23 hours Ago By Florida Today
It wasn't a sunrise − the Saturday night sky over the Space Coast was illuminated as a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rose upward and onto a southeast trajectory. The Saturday night liftoff occurred at 11:07 p.m.
from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40. The rocket let out a rumble as it carried 28 Starlink internet satellites to orbit. Eight-and-a-half-minutes after lift off, the first-stage booster landed on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship, which was stationed out on the Atlantic Ocean.
No Space Coast sonic booms were heard. The Saturday launch marked the 19th flight for the first-stage booster. Previous missions it flew include: 14 Starlink missions, NASA's Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER-B, USSF-124, and Bluebird 1-5.
Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA rocket launch schedule at Cape Canaveral When is the next Cape Canaveral rocket launch? The next launch is set to take place no earlier than Wednesday, April 9. This launch will be a rare sight, as it is a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The launch window opens at noon, and ULA has a three-hour opportunity to make the launch.
Liftoff will be from ULA's Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 41. The launch is long awaited, as it will deliver the first batch of Amazon Kuiper satellites to orbit . Originally slated to launch late last year, the Project Kuiper satellite constellation will be Amazon's entrance into the satellite internet market − similar to SpaceX's Starlink.
This first launch is known as KA-01, or Kuiper Atlas 1. The launch will send 27 Kuiper satellites to orbit, making it the heaviest payload ever flown by an Atlas V rocket. This will require the rocket configuration of five solid rocket boosters, which is the Atlas V rocket's most powerful model.
The FLORIDA TODAY Space Team will provide live coverage of the KA-01 launch beginning two hours prior to liftoff at FloridaToday.com/Space . Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today.
Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars . This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches rocket on Starlink mission Saturday night from Florida.
