Record-breaking launch of SpaceX's Starlink satellites
by Charles Briggs
Space Coast FL (SPX) Sep 30, 2023

SpaceX pushed back the launch time from the original T-0 of 6:49 p.m. EDT (2249 UTC Sep. 30) more than three hours later due to the weather condition. At 10:00 p.m. EDT (0200 UTC Sep. 30), a Falcon 9 rocket launched 22 of SpaceX's "V2 Mini" internet satellites for its Starlink communications network from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in Florida.

Compared to its earlier Starlink spacecraft, SpaceX's V2 Mini satellites are more powerful. The company claims that the new satellites have increased broadband capacity and are equipped with Hall thruster electric propulsion systems, which produce more than twice as much thrust as those used on earlier models.

This marks the 70th launch for SpaceX in 2023. Starlink Group 6-19 brings the total number of launched Starlink satellites to 5,200, with more than 4,849 Starlink satellites currently in orbit.

The Falcon 9 booster supporting this mission was B1069. Having previously supported CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19, and five Starlink missions, the booster flew and landed for the tenth time.

Eight and a half minutes after liftoff, the booster successfully landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG), stationed 420 miles (675 kilometers) downrange east of the Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean.

With tonight's mission, SpaceX has achieved one of their goals, they have now launched 10 times in September, it's the most flights SpaceX has conducted in a single month. At the beginning of the month, SpaceX's founder and CEO, Elon Musk, aimed to launch 10 missions for the remaining months of 2023 and 12 launches per month in 2024.

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