SpaceX completed its 40 Falcon 9 mission of the year with a launch from the Cape. The Starlink 6-52 mission added 23 more satellites to the growing low Earth orbit constellation.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 6:40 p.m. EDT (2240 UTC), the opening of a nearly four-hour window. The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 90 percent chance of favorable conditions heading into launch.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster for this mission, tail number B1080, made its seventh flight on this mission. It previously flew the Ax-2 and Ax-3 private astronaut missions on behalf of Axiom Space in addition to launching the Euclid observatory for the European Space Agency.
A little more than eight minutes after liftoff, B1080 landed on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ This was the 66th landing on ASOG and the 299th Falcon booster landing to date.
The 23 Starlink satellites were deployed a little more than an hour prior to liftoff.
Moments before #SpaceX launched another batch of #Starlink satellites the F-22 Demo team flew over the rocket!
Looking forward to seeing these F-22’s perform at the upcoming Orlando-Sanford Airshow this weekend!
📸 by me for @SpaceflightNow @F22DemoTeam #orlandosanfordairshow pic.twitter.com/ZuNEN7AzD2
— Michael Cain (@mdcainjr) April 18, 2024
