File: A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch a Starlink mission. Image: SpaceX
Update March 6, 12:50 p.m. EST (1550 UTC): SpaceX pushed back the T-0.
SpaceX is preparing for a predawn launch on Saturday, March 7, from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The Starlink 17-18 mission will add 25 more broadband internet satellites to the company’s megaconstellation of more than 9,900 spacecraft in low Earth orbit.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East is scheduled at 6:33:30 a.m. PST (9:33:30 a.m. EST / 1433:30 UTC). The rocket will fly on a southerly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
SpaceX will launch the Starlink 17-18 mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number B1097. This will be its seventh flight, following the launches of Twilight, Sentinel-6B and four batches of Starlink satellites.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1097 will target a landing on the drone ship, ‘Of Course I Still Love You,’ positioned in the Pacific Ocean. If successful, this will be the 182nd landing for this vessel and the 582nd booster landing to date for SpaceX.