Cape Canaveral, FL - SpaceX successfully launched its latest batch of 21 Starlink satellites on Saturday, August 12, at 8:50 a.m. EDT (1250 UTC) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch came a day after bad weather in the booster recovery zone forced a mission scrub.
Image Credit: SpaceX
The Falcon 9 booster, tail number B1067, made its 21st flight and successfully landed on the droneship "Just Read the Instructions" just over eight minutes after liftoff. This marked the 88th touchdown for the droneship and the 336th booster landing to date.
Among the 21 Starlink satellites launched, 13 support SpaceX's Direct to Cell capabilities. This brings the total number of DTC Starlink satellites on orbit to 142 following payload deployment.
The Starlink 8-3 mission was the 55th dedicated Starlink launch in 2024 and the 118th launch of the V2 Mini variety of satellites.
The launch comes amid changes to SpaceX's launch manifest, including the delay of the Crew-9 mission to no earlier than September 24. This delay allows for further deliberation on the Boeing Crew Flight Test and its implications for future crewed missions.
Additionally, the commercial astronaut mission Polaris Dawn has been rescheduled for no earlier than August 26, and the CRS-31 Cargo Dragon flight will now launch in mid-October.
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