SpaceX successfully launched 46 Starlink satellites onboard a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, at 2140 GMT on 12 August.
The satellites are identified as Group 3-3, part of SapceX’s Starlink LEO communications constellation. The spacecraft which orbit in a shell – approximately 560 km, inclined at 97.6 degrees – that could be susceptible to debris “squalls” from a Russian anti-satellite test that took place in November 2021.
The B1061 first stage successfully landed on the drone barge “Of Course I Still Love You” which was stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean.
The launch of 46 Group 3-3 Starlink satellites marked SpaceX’s 36th launch in 2022. Courtesy: SpaceX
Jonathan Freeman contributed to this story.
