SpaceX ready for another Starlink launch attempt: fourth time’s the charm?

For the fourth occasion, SpaceX is about to (try to) launch 57 Starlink satellites and two Earth-imaging satellites, ideally finishing over six months of misery.

SpaceX’s ninth launch of upgraded v1.0 Starlink aquariums, the Starlink V1 L9 mission will also be the tenth Starlink launch overall, as well as the next time the company has hosted commercial payloads on among its net satellite launches. Following Starlink V1 L8’s successful rideshare debut using three Planet Skysat Earth imaging satellites on June 13th, Starlink V1 L9 may carry two similar but distinct Earth imaging satellites built for BlackSky from LeoStella.

To fit those two commercial spacecraft along with the excess hardware needed to mount and set up themSpaceX has removed three planes (versus 2 removed from V1 L8) in the typical 60-satellite heap. It’s uncertain why the otherwise similar assignments differ from that regard but in any event, Starlink V1 L9 – hopefully for the last time – is scheduled to launch no earlier than 1:12am EDT (05:12 UTC) on Friday, August 7th.

Targeting Friday, August 7 in 1:12 a.m. EDT to Falcon 9’so launch of 57 Starlink satellites and 2 spacecraft in @spaceflight’s customer BlackSky https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 6, 2020

Astra attempting to launch involving 10pm-12 midnight EDT, while SpaceX intending a Falcon 9 launch at 1:12 am EDT tonight. https://t.co/CEsXpgGVh7

— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) August 6, 2020

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As mentioned in many past launch and scrub articles on Teslarati, Starlink V1 L9 is also notable for their Falcon 9 booster assigned to it.

“For Falcon 9 booster B1051, the Starlink V1 L9 mission is going to be its fifth launch, making it the next SpaceX rocket to fly on five separate orbital-class assignments. If B1051 handles to successfully land aboard drone boat of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) some 630 km (~390 mi) off the coast of Florida, it’s also going to grow to be the next Falcon 9 booster to launch and land five times at a row.A protected landing would visit B1051 join the ranks of one other Falcon 9 booster – B1049 – which finished its fifth launch and landing on June 3rd, 2020. Back on March 14th, Falcon 9 booster B1048 technically became the very first SpaceX rocket to successfully complete five orbital-class starts, although an extremely rare search-engine collapse came near prematurely ending the mission and completely precluded an effective landing. ”Teslarati.com — July 8th, 2020

B1051 stands perpendicular at Pad 39A around its very first Starlink-9 launch attempt at late-June. (Richard Angle)

Falcon 9 B1049 became the very first SpaceX booster to launch and land five times around June 3rd. (Richard Angle)

Originally expected as early as June 23rd, just 20 days following Falcon 9 B1049 became the very first orbital-class booster to successfully launch and land five times, Falcon 9 B1051’s own fifth-flight milestone is currently slated to occur a bit more than two weeks later – still impressive by any accounts.

Past Starlink-9, SpaceX has some other couple of Starlink missions slated to launch within the next 4-8 weeks, even while Argentina’s SAOCOM 1B radar satellite launch recently slipped into late-August for mystical reasons. As soon as next month, SpaceX may also try its next NASA astronaut launch and operational International Space Station (ISS) ferry mission just four weeks after a flawless astronaut launch debut.

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