To conclude an extremely busy month, SpaceX may launch two batches of Starlinks and a communications satellite this weekend.
The business has already performed 11 launches this month, including the third flight test of Starship. It is amazing how quickly the company is constructing the most powerful rocket in the world while still securely launching Falcon 9 rockets that have already proven safe in flight.
This evening, at 7:30 p.m. PT, the first launch from the Group 7 Starlink shell, which consists of 22 Starlink satellites, could occur from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. SpaceX had originally planned to target last night, but for unclear reasons, it opted to back off. That will be the fifteenth launch for Booster 1071.
On Saturday night, Launch Complex-39A and Space Launch Complex-40 may conduct back-to-back launches.
The Eutelsat 36D communications satellite will be the first to launch, with a current timetable of 5:52 pm ET. It will take off from LC-39A into a geostationary transfer orbit.
Airbus’s Eutelsat 36D will take the place of Eutelsat 36B at 36° East, offering more than 1100 broadcast channels along with additional connection to Europe, Russia, and Africa. Seventy Ku-band transponders on the satellite allow for continuous data transmission to the ground. It is anticipated that the satellite will operate for fifteen years.
Only a few hours later, at SLC-40, where 23 Starlink satellites are waiting to be launched into space, may be the second launch of the evening. This is a second batch for the Group 6 Starlink shell, which is scheduled for launch in the southeast. As of right now, the launch is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET.
Both of these missions will involve droneship landings, though SpaceX has not yet confirmed which of its Falcon 9 rockets will carry out the launches. After returning to Port Canaveral with two more Falcon 9 rockets after their missions, both drone ships practically immediately went back out to sea to position themselves for these launches.
SpaceX hopes to maintain a high tempo in 2024 and if they are successful in completing these three launches, they will have completed 14 flights in a single month.