SpaceX was slated to launch another set of 60 satellites for the Starlink internet constellation on Sunday, February 14 at 23:21 EST but was forced to postpone before fueling due to unfavorable weather conditions.
SpaceX Starlink v1.0 L19
Starlink is SpaceX's 12,000 satellite low earth orbit constellation that is set to provide broadband internet access. The spacecraft communications payload will use Ku and Ka frequency bands while the satellites employ optical inter-satellite links phased array beamforming and digital processing technologies from SpaceX.
The first 1,584 Starlink satellites are set to operate from a 550kilomter orbit in planes inclined 53-degrees to the equator. Later, sub-constellations are set for 1,200kilomtre and very low 340-kilometer orbital altitude bringing the final size to roughly 12,000 satellites.
The first batch of 60 fully operational SpaceX Starlink Block v1.0 satellites were launched in November 2019.
New Plans for SpaceX' Starlink v1.0 L19
The Starlink v1.0 L19 mission was set to deliver its payloads of the constellation's initial shells in a 53-degree incline upon orbit and is now targeting launch at 22:59 EST February 15.
Meanwhile, in Port Canaveral. Ms. Tree was practicing scooping out fairings from the water (using the dock) before getting photobombed by USNS Newport.
— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) February 11, 2021
Just your average Thursday.
Edited clips (rewind below for the whole show).
➡️https://t.co/lzdAJXnIy6 pic.twitter.com/3LE2OLQxK8
The forecast for Monday night shows a 60% chance of good weather with primary concerns of cumulus clouds.
This will be Falcon 9 booster 1059's sixth flight. The first launch was staged in December 2019 with the launch of the CRS-19 mission. Subsequently, it launched CRS-20, Starlink rideshare mission, NROL-108, and SAOCOM-1B on December 19, 2020.
SpaceX's launch vehicle completed its static fire tests early Saturday afternoon in preparation for the launch.
The mission is set to use flight profiles that include a brief second firing of the second stage engine roughly 45 minutes after liftoff, with the satellite's release into an approximately 250 by 280-kilometer orbit over an hour into the flight.
After lifting off from Space Launch Complex, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will fly to the Atlantic Ocean.
The autonomous spaceport drone ship, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY), will be awaiting the arrival of Falcon 6 600 kilometers downrange to catch the booster after the completion of the mission.
OCISLY will be towed by Hawk for the mission and is joined by support ship Go Quest and retrieval vessels Go Ms Tree and Go Ms Chief.
Prior to departing, the GO Ms Tree crew was spotted conducting practice runs with nets to scoop fairings from the water.
This is set to be the second of four planned Starlink launches in February. SpaceX takes advantage of a lull in missions for external customers ramping up deployment of their internet constellation.
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