SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Florida; possibly more before NASA Artemis

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shot off its Florida pad with yet another batch of Starlink internet satellites Friday afternoon, setting the stage for what could be just one more launch before NASA’s big show late this month.

The 3:21 p.m. liftoff from Launch Complex 40 marked the 57th Starlink mission for the SpaceX constellation of internet satellites operating in low-Earth orbit. The company confirmed successful separation of the 53 spacecraft about 15 minutes after liftoff.

In between, the rocket’s 162-foot first stage successfully landed on the “Shortfall of Gravitas” drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, completing its ninth flight so far. Overall, the Space Coast has hosted 36 launches in 2022; of those, exactly half have been dedicated Starlink missions.

If everything goes according to plan, SpaceX could fly one more time before a massive NASA moon rocket named the Space Launch System blasts off from Kennedy Space Center toward the end of this month. As it stands, the company is eyeing the night of Saturday, Aug. 27, for another Starlink batch.

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SpaceX has not confirmed specific details about the launch and typically doesn’t do so until the day before. But federal filings, as well as the Space Force’s long-term calendar, tentatively show Aug. 27 – less than two days before SLS – as an opportunity for the constellation’s 58th flight.

Whether or not that Starlink mission flies on time is inconsequential to NASA managers overseeing the agency’s first internally developed rocket since the space shuttle program ended more than a decade ago. SLS’ time slot on the range – 8:33 a.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 29 – is solid; backup opportunities are also available on Sept. 2 and Sept. 5.

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The SLS flight, labeled Artemis I, will take an uncrewed Orion capsule around the moon before returning to Earth. It’s part of NASA’s bigger goal of putting two astronauts on the lunar surface sometime after 2025.

Also on Friday, an uncrewed SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule undocked from the International Space Station and set its sights on an Atlantic splashdown just before 3 p.m. EDT Saturday. The capsules typically return to Earth with completed science experiments and waste from the ISS.

For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.

Launch Monday, Aug. 29

Visit floridatoday.com/space at 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 29, for real-time updates and live video.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches Starlink from Florida; maybe more before NASA Artemis