Update 12:42 a.m. EDT: SpaceX adjusted the T-0 liftoff time.
As the month of March winds down, SpaceX hopes to squeeze in one more launch from California with a batch of 22 of its Starlink satellites on board. Without stating a reason why, the company decided to call off a launch attempt on Thursday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
SpaceX later also scuttled a Friday night launch attempt, which would’ve taken place as poor weather was moving into the area. Liftoff of the Starlink 7-18 mission is now set for no earlier than Saturday, March 30, at 11:30 p.m. PT (2:30 a.m. ET, 0630 UTC).
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage of the mission beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
This will be the 15th flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1071 in the SpaceX fleet. It previously launched two SmallSat Transporter rideshare mission, a pair of missions for the National Reconnaissance Office and NASA’s ocean-observing SWOT payload among others.
Following liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E), B1071 will land on the SpaceX droneship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ a little more than eight minutes into flight. This will mark the 87th landing on OCISLY and the 289th booster landing to date.
SpaceX will deploy the Starlink satellites about an hour after launch from the Golden State. This mission will be the 21st Starlink flight in 2024, adding to the more than 6,100 Starlinks launched to date.
According to astronomer and expert tracker, Jonathan McDowell, there are currently 5,700 Starlink satellites currently on orbit.
