SpaceX gears up for back-to-back Starlink launches this week

SpaceX is once again aiming to send two different Falcon 9 rockets into space this week loaded with its Starlink broadband satellites in about 26 hours.

For now, Elon Musk’s company is expected to ship its 19th batch of Starlink routers into low Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral space station in Florida at 7:59 p.m. PST (10:59 p.m. ET) on Monday. The 20th batch is scheduled to take off from the adjacent Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday at 9:55 p.m. PT (12:55 a.m. Wednesday ET).

The company had planned to launch two lots Florida Starlinks a few hours apart earlier this month, but one of those missions was postponed. (This launch is now scheduled for Tuesday evening.)

These launches and the drone landings that follow them are becoming quite routine for SpaceX, but Musk would like to see the pace of the launches increase. The FCC license for Starlink to operate requires 2212 of its satellites to be operational by March of next year.

So far, more than 1,000 small satellites have been sent into space, but it is not known how many of them are currently operational. Either way, it looks like if SpaceX can pull off at least two Starlink launches per month, it should be able to hit its target.

Only two Starlink missions have been completed so far in 2021, but the company can level up quickly if it completes both missions this week.

Due to adverse weather conditions this evening, now targeting Monday February 15 at 10:59 p.m. EST for the launch of 60 Starlink satellites by Falcon 9

– SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 15, 2021

Of course, these launches are known to slip. Monday night’s launch has already been pushed back several times, most recently Sunday due to bad weather.

Whenever the next launch is imminent, we’ll embed the livestream here. It usually goes live about ten minutes before launch.

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