SpaceX Starlink 12 Mission

SpaceX describes this mission and its role in Starlink as follows…”Starlink 12 marks the 13th Starlink mission, boosting the total number of Starlink satellites launched to 773. Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. Starlink is SpaceX’s internet communication satellite constellation. The Low-Earth orbit constellation will deliver fast, low-latency internet service to locations where ground-based internet is unreliable, unavailable, or expensive. The Falcon 9 Block 5 is SpaceX’s partially reusable two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle. Block 5 is the final iteration of the Falcon 9. The Falcon 9 contains 3 main components: a reusable first stage, an expendable second stage, and a reusable fairing. The booster supporting this mission B1058 previously flew twice, on the SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2, on May 30, 2020, and on ANASIS-II, which launched on July 20, 2020. This is the 17th launch for SpaceX in 2020. This is the 94th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket, 43rd re-flight of a booster and 61st booster landing.”

SpaceX also noted the following recent Starlink experience, “Earlier this week, emergency responders in Washington State shared their experience using Starlink. In the wake of the wildfires that devastated areas of the state in August, first responders there have been using the service for their purposes and to help bring the residents of Malden internet service while they rebuild their community. Malden is located about 35 miles south of Spokane, Washington, which falls within the northern latitudes our satellites currently service. The way emergency responders deployed Starlink in this context is representative of how Starlink works best—in remote or rural areas where internet connectivity is unavailable.”