Update May 1, 3:10 PM EDT (1910 UTC): SpaceX confirms deployment of 29 Starlink satellites.
SpaceX kicked off the month of May by launching a batch of Starlink V2 mini satellites into low Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Friday afternoon.
The Starlink 10-38 mission carries with it a batch of 29 broadband internet satellites, joining a megaconstellation that currently includes more than 10,000 spacecraft. It was the 43rd mission of the year to include Starlink satellites as the primary payload.
The liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 occurred at 2:06:10 pm EDT (1806:10 UTC). The Falcon 9 rocket flew on a north-easterly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad.
The 45th Weather Squadron estimated an 80 percent chance of favorable weather during liftoff. Meteorologists said they are keeping an eye on possible violations of the rules for cumulus clouds and dense cloud layers.
“For the launch window on Friday, there may be showers with sea breezes that will stick to the coastline due to offshore flow,” launch weather officials wrote. “The cumulus cloud rule will be of primary concern in sea breeze development, with a secondary thick cloud layer rule concern due to the proximity of the boundary to the north.”
SpaceX launched the mission using a Falcon 9 first stage booster with tail number B1069. This was its 31st flight after missions like CRS-24, Eutelsat Hotbird 13F and 26 batches of Starlink satellites.
About 8.5 minutes after takeoff, B1069 landed on ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, a drone ship deployed in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the 149th landing on this drone ship and the 607th booster landing ever for SpaceX.
The company recently retired its other East Coast drone ship, ‘Just Read the Instructions’, and is reusing it as a transport ship for its Starship rocket program.
