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CAP CANAVERAL, Fla .– SpaceX is preparing to launch a third batch of Starlink satellites in as many weeks on Sunday March 14, and you will be able to watch the action live online.
The Hawthorne, Calif.-Based company plans to fly one of its veteran Falcon 9 rockets for a record nine times with the mission, which comes just days after SpaceX’s last launch. The double-decker launcher will take off from historic Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center here in Florida at 6:01 a.m. EDT (11:01 a.m. GMT).
You can watch the launch live here and on the Space.com homepage, courtesy of SpaceX, starting about 15 minutes before takeoff. You can also watch the launch directly through SpaceX.
Related: SpaceX’s Starlink satellite mega-constellation launches in photos
Sunday morning’s flight will mark SpaceX’s eighth launch this year, maintaining a rapid launch cadence set last year when the company set a new launch record of 26 flights.
Forecasters from the US Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron reported that the launch weather looks promising for take-off early Sunday morning, with a 90% chance the weather is favorable. The only slight concern is the potential for cumulus clouds.
If needed, there is a save launch window on Monday, with equally promising weather conditions.
Good weather is also expected downstream, which is good news for SpaceX’s main drone ship – “Of course, I still love you” – as it hopes to catch the booster when it returns to Earth. If successful, the landing will mark the 77th resumption for SpaceX since the company landed its first booster in 2015, and the ninth landing for that particular booster.
Flight number. 9
The booster, B1051, is one of two leaders in SpaceX’s reusable rocket stable fleet. He flew for the first time in March 2019, lofting an unequipped Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a demonstration mission.
After these successful beginnings, the B1051 toured the country for launch a trio of Earth observation satellites for Canada SpaceX facilities at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The booster then flew a total of five times from Florida in 2020, carrying five different Starlink missions and a broadband satellite for Sirius XM.
Sunday’s mission marks the B1051’s second flight this year and its second Starlink mission so far in 2021. After his last flight, January 20SpaceX engineers were able to turn around and prepare it for its historic ninth flight in just 53 days – the second fastest turnaround time for this particular thruster. (The fastest was between flights 7 and 8, which took off just 38 days apart.)
Expanding the constellation
This particular flight, Starlink 21, is the 22nd set of internet broadcast satellites that SpaceX has delivered to space, including a set of initial prototypes in 2019. The company predicted its initial constellation to be 1440 strong, and then that SpaceX is on track To meet this goal, the company has already obtained approval for as many as 30,000 people, with the possibility of doing even more at a later date.
The final stack of 60 satellites will join the fleet already in orbit, bringing the total number launched to more than 1,300. (This number includes prototypes of satellites that are no longer in service.) SpaceX is quickly filling its original constellation, as it plans to launch a full commercial deployment later this year.
To that end, the company recently started taking pre-orders through its website. If interested, potential customers can register through the Company Starlink website and a secure service by posting a deposit. The website says it could take several months for the service to become active and only allow a limited number of users per zone at this time.
In 2019, SpaceX launched an extensive beta testing program, called “better than nothing beta“, which started only with employees. The first results were successful. The company has therefore extended the testing program to residents of the United States. Now the service is offered in several countries, including the United States. United, Germany, Canada more recently, New Zealand.
When wildfires raged in the Pacific Northwest, SpaceX provided its Starlink to the Washington State Emergency Management Division to help first responders deal with the wildfires. It also provided terminals for the Hoh Tribe, a reservation in western Washington. Tribal chiefs said members were struggling to connect and the service helped with education and provided access to telehealth.
SpaceX has also connected the Pikangikum tribe in Canada, as well as residents of Wise County, Virginia. These users are exactly the type of people the service was designed for – those who live in rural or remote areas with little or no access to connectivity.
Fairing recovery
SpaceX’s iconic rocket payload fairing sensors – GO Ms Tree and GO Ms Chief – are still tucked away in the harbor, undergoing maintenance. In the previous mission, GO Searcher and GO Navigator, two of SpaceX’s Dragon salvage boats, were sent to the salvage area to retrieve the fairings.
After removing the two pieces of the ocean fairing, the dup transported them to Morehead City, NC, where they were transferred to another member of the SpaceX salvage fleet: GO Pursuit. The ship will bring the parts back to Port Canaveral so GO Searcher and GO Navigator can collect the fairings after Sunday’s launch.
Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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