SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in the midnight hour on Monday to add another 21 satellites to its orbiting Starlink fleet.
Liftoff of the Starlink 12-2 mission from pad 39A occurred on time at 12:35 a.m. EST (0535 UTC), just five days and seven hours since the last launch from the historic launch site, a new record turnaround at this pad for SpaceX.
Of the 21 satellites, 13 are equipped for direct-to-cellphone connections. SpaceX’s U.S. cellphone partner, T-Mobile, recently announced it would be starting a beta text messaging service via the direct-to-cell Starlink satellites.
Starlink 12-2 was launched by Falcon 9 first-stage booster 1080, making its 14th flight. The booster entered service in May 2023 with the launch of the Axiom 2 commercial space station mission. It has launched seven previous batches of Starlink satellites.
Following stage separation, the booster continued downrange before landing on the SpaceX droneship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, east of the Bahamas.
The 21 Starlink satellites will be deployed from the Falcon 9 upper stage into a 293 by 284 kilometer, 43-degree inclination orbit a little over an hour after launch.
