SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida early Tuesday, using a first-stage booster that will make its record-breaking 37th flight as the company continues expanding its Starlink broadband constellation.
What Happened
The Starlink 10-49 mission is scheduled to lift off at 5:33 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, heading on a north-easterly trajectory. The flight will add 29 broadband internet satellites to the company's low Earth orbit constellation of more than 11,000 spacecraft. The booster assigned to this mission, tail number B1067, entered service in June 2021 and is targeting a landing approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th Weather Squadron forecasts a 90 percent chance of favorable weather during the launch window, with meteorologists monitoring for potential interference from cumulus and anvil clouds.
Why It Matters
If successful, this landing would mark the 165th booster recovery on A Shortfall of Gravitas and the 654th Falcon first-stage landing to date. The mission could represent the final Starlink flight from Cape Canaveral in the near term, as no additional internet service missions appear on the current schedule from that launch site. SpaceX has launched 44 of its 76 Starlink missions this year from its West Coast facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, with the company's Cape Canaveral workforce now refocused on Starship preparations.
The Bottom Line
The B1067 booster's 37th flight sets a new reuse record for SpaceX's Falcon 9 program. Live coverage will begin approximately one hour before the scheduled 5:33 a.m. EDT liftoff.