SpaceX successfully launched 23 more Starlink satellites into orbit on Sunday evening, marking the 29th dedicated launch of Starlink satellites in 2024. The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:08 p.m. EDT. The first stage booster, B1076, made its 13th successful launch and landed on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Just Read the Instructions,’ marking the 80th landing on the ship and the 301st booster landing overall.
This launch added to the 5,874 Starlink satellites already in orbit, with a total of 633 launched in 2024. In a social media post, SpaceX’s vice president of launch highlighted the team’s five-hour turnaround of the droneship at Port Canaveral. Additionally, SpaceX announced that the Federated States of Micronesia now has access to Starlink service.
In other news, the SpaceX Cargo Dragon undocked from the International Space Station on Tuesday, beginning its journey to splashdown off the coast of Florida. The conclusion of the CRS-30 mission, which carried over 4,000 pounds of science experiments, sets the stage for Boeing’s first crewed mission using the Starliner spacecraft. SpaceX will need to relocate its Crew Dragon spacecraft before this mission can proceed.
Vocabulary List:
- satellites (noun): An artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or another planet in order to collect information or for communication purposes.
- orbit (noun): The curved path of a celestial object or spacecraft around a starplanetor moon.
- Booster (noun): A rocket or auxiliary unit on a spacecraftaircraftor vehicleespecially when initiating or increasing speed or altitude.
- droneship (noun): A vessel that SpaceX uses to recover rocket boosters at sea after launch.
- splashdown (noun): The landing of a spacecraft in the ocean or other body of water.
- relocate (verb): To move or shift to a new place or position.
