SpaceX was set Tuesday to achieve a milestone reuse of one of its Falcon rocket boosters as the company prepared to launch the Starlink 10-45 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
What Happened
The predawn launch from Launch Complex 40 was scheduled to mark the 600th reuse of a Falcon first-stage booster. The Falcon 9 with tail number B1080 was set to carry 29 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit on its 28th flight, following previous missions that included two crew flights for Axiom Space, the European Space Agency's Euclid observatory launch, and Northrop Grumman's NG-21 cargo mission. Liftoff had been pushed back from an earlier target time of 5:10 a.m. EDT (0910 UTC). The rocket was planned to fly on a north-easterly trajectory with a landing attempt on the droneship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' in the Atlantic Ocean roughly 8.5 minutes after liftoff.
Why It Matters
The mission represents another step in SpaceX's rapid reuse cadence, having now accumulated more than 10,700 active satellites in its Starlink constellation. The company's boosters have completed 637 landings to date, with 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' hosting 160 previous landings. The 90 percent weather probability at the opening of the window improving to 95 percent offered favorable conditions for the milestone flight.
The Bottom Line
SpaceX was targeting its 600th Falcon booster reuse as part of a Starlink mission adding 29 satellites to an orbital network that has grown to more than 10,700 spacecraft. Live coverage was available about an hour before the planned liftoff from Cape Canaveral.