Falcon 9 Starlink Launch: 22 Satellites and a 13th Booster Landing

Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 11:36 p.m. Eastern time on August 16, carrying 22 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit. The first stage was flying for the 13th time, and it landed again on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

A booster with a crew-flight history

The booster had previously launched CRS-22, Crew-3, Turksat 5B, Crew-4, CRS-25, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G, mPOWER-a and PSN SATRIA before this mission, which was its fifth Starlink flight. The hosts noted it had taken eight astronauts to the ISS on the Crew-3 and Crew-4 missions. Recovering parts of the rocket lets SpaceX reuse the most expensive components, which drives down the cost of space access.

The mission was SpaceX's 56th launch of the year and its 255th overall.

Countdown

At about T minus four minutes 46 seconds the range was ready and the weather was looking good, with only a 10 percent chance of a violation for liftoff. No major issues were being tracked. The strongback clamp arms opened and the strongback, the transporter erector structure used to route electrical connections and propellant to the vehicle, moved away from the rocket.

At T minus three minutes the first stage was fully loaded with RP-1 and liquid oxygen, and the second stage then completed its liquid oxygen load. Falcon 9 was then fully loaded with 1 million pounds of fuel and liquid oxygen. The call that Falcon 9 was in startup meant the flight computers had taken over the countdown, and the launch director gave the final go for launch.

Ascent and stage separation

After liftoff the vehicle pitched downrange, went supersonic and passed Max Q, the point of greatest external stress. Then came back-to-back events: main engine cutoff, when all nine Merlin 1D engines on the first stage shut down; stage separation; second engine start, when the Merlin vacuum engine lit; and fairing separation.

Both fairing halves were flight-proven, one flying for its tenth time and the other for its 11th. SpaceX planned to attempt recovery of both using its recovery vessel Doug.

Landing and orbit

On the entry burn, engines 1, 5 and 9 relit to slow the first stage for re-entry. The stage went transonic, performed its landing burn and used terminal guidance before landing confirmed on the drone ship. It was the booster's 13th launch and landing.

Second engine cutoff followed. The callout for good orbit was not heard, but the teams confirmed nominal orbital insertion. The landing was SpaceX's 217th overall landing of an orbital-class rocket, counting Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions. Confirmation of Starlink deployment was to be posted on social media.

Starlink satellites, designed and manufactured by SpaceX, operate in low Earth orbit and form what the broadcast calls the world's largest satellite internet constellation.