Space.com reported the launch as follows. “SpaceX lofted a new batch of Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Florida’s Space Coast today (Feb. 29) in a Leap Day launch that came after the company delayed its first astronaut launch of the year.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink satellites lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT).
SpaceX shifted into launch operations for this mission, known as Starlink 6-40, in the wee hours of today after calling off plans to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA on the agency’s Crew-8 mission.
Crew-8 was scheduled to launch just after midnight on Friday (March 1), but SpaceX postponed it to no earlier than Saturday night (March 2) due to rough offshore weather that could pose concerns during launch abort scenarios. Today’s Starlink launch marked the 11th flight for this particular Falcon 9 first stage, which had already helped launch five Starlink missions, four commercial satellite flights and one uncrewed NASA cargo run to the ISS. The booster returned to Earth just over 8 minutes after liftoff today, landing at sea on the drone ship Just Read The Instructions so it can be returned to port for a future flight. ”
Please use the following spaceX.com link for a replay of the launch and description of the mission.
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