At 12:30 Beijing time on May 10, 2024 (21:30 EDT on May 9), the Falcon 9 carrier rocket carried 8 groups of 2 batches (G8-2) of 20 small second-generation "Starlink" satellites from the SLC-4E station at Vandenberg Space Force Base to launch the satellites into low earth orbit.
The 20 small second-generation Starlink V2.0 Mini satellites in this mission include 13 mobile phone satellites directly connected to the satellite. This mission is the 33rd batch launch of the "Starlink" low-orbit communication satellite constellation in 2024, the 163rd batch launch of the constellation and the 76th batch launch of the second-generation "Starlink" satellite. So far, the total number of "Starlink" satellites launched has reached 6,395, of which 745 will be launched in 2024.
The mission used the 4th flight of the first stage B1082.4 using Under-the-Line Recovery (ASDS), and the T+00:08:22 first stage landed on the deck of the OCISLY automatic recovery vessel, which was the 307th recovery landing of the first stage module of the rocket core of the active Falcon family. On the afternoon of April 11, Beijing time, the first-class B1082.3 carried out the USSF-62 launch mission, 30 days after the mission.
This launch is the 48th launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle in 2024, the 15th launch of the Vandenberg Space Force Base, the 55th launch of the United States, and the 89th launch of the world.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou