SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 vehicle carrying 60 Starlink satellites from the ex-Space Shuttle Pad 39A leased from NASA at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA at 1225 GMT on 18 October. The launch was the 14th Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satelites and the 13th of the operational V-1.0 Starlink version. After a post orbit burn was made, the Falcon 9 upper stage delivered the SpaceX Starlink constellation communications spacecraft into a 278 circular low Earth orbit inclined at 53 degrees relative to the equatorial plane. SpaceX has so far orbited 835 Starlink satellites into orbit ableit that 50 (mainly of the V0.9 prototype generation) have now re-entered.
13th Falcon 9 launch of operational set of Starlink sats (14th Falcon 9 Starlink launch). Courtesy: SpaceX
The Falcon 9 launch vehicle’s reused first/core stage B1051 on its sixth flight on this launch landed successfully on the drone ship ”Of Course I Still Love You” located down range in the Atlantic approximately eight minutes after launch.
Three and a half minutes into the launch the two fairing halves of the nose cone/shroud was jettisoned and two boats, Ms Tree and Ms Chief recovered these para-sailing items using their net structures. However, one was later reported to have partially broken through the nets of Ms Tree leaving a hole.
