SpaceX launched its 100th Falcon 9 rocket of the year on Monday morning, successfully delivering another batch of Starlink V2 Mini satellites into low Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Liftoff from Pad 4E occurred at 9:26 a.m. PDT, with the rocket flying on a southerly trajectory. The mission marked the 72nd launch dedicated to the Starlink constellation this year, raising the total number of satellites deployed for the network in that time to 1,786.
The flight was powered by the Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1088, which was completing its ninth trip to space. Its previous missions included flights for the National Reconnaissance Office (NROL-126 and NROL-57) and NASA’s SPHEREx/PUNCH rideshare.
Approximately 8.5 minutes after launch, the booster completed a successful landing on the SpaceX droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ stationed in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 145th recovery for this vessel and the 489th successful booster landing to date for SpaceX.
The 24 Starlink satellites were scheduled for deployment just over an hour into the flight. The rocket’s second stage was slated to perform a deorbit burn, ensuring its safe disposal in the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand.
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