SpaceX launching next Starlinks batch
April 29, 2022
By Chris Forrester
Elon Musk, whilst busy buying Twitter, is also focused on sending the latest batch of his Starlink broadband satellites into orbit.
SpaceX is targeting April 29th for a Falcon 9 launch of 53 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The instantaneous launch window is at 5:27 pm ET, and a backup opportunity is available on April 30th at 5:05 pm ET.
The first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, one Starlink mission, and most recently the Ax-1 mission on April 8th, 2022. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage will return to Earth and land on the ‘Just Read the Instructions’ droneship stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.
The last Starlink launch took place on April 21st. This new launch will take the total launched to 2,441 craft.
May will also be busy for SpaceX. It has two launches for SES planned to take six of its O3b/mPower satellites into orbit. Also scheduled for May is the launch of Nilesat 301.
Starlink has also been licensed to provide broadband services to Bahrain.