Intense launch schedule for SpaceX
July 5, 2022
SpaceX rocket engineers and technicians are gearing up for an intense period of launches for its Starlink broadband-by-satellite programme.
The five planned launches from July 7th to July 14th will likely carry at least 200 satellites into orbit. Additionally, SpaceX has some commercial obligations to fulfil including a NASA flight (Dragon CRS-2 around July 15th) and a Lunar orbiter for Korea on about August 3rd.
SpaceX is also hoping to launch its massive Starship on an orbital flight test from its South Texas facility towards the end of the month (and currently expected to happen on July 31st).
The current schedule calls for the following launches:
· Starlink batch 4-21 on July 7th from Cape Canaveral
· Starlink batch 4-22 on July 10th from Cape Canaveral
· Starlink batch 3-1 on July 11th from Vandenberg, Calif.
· Starlink batch 4-25 on July 14th from Cape Canaveral
· Starlink batch 3-2 on July 14th from Vandenberg, Calif.
SpaceX, according to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell’s comprehensive data, has launched 2,706 Starlinks of which 2,420 are working and in position (plus another 228 ascending to their target orbits).
Other posts by Chris Forrester:
- Virgin Galactic in stock split
- Thuraya-3 suffers major problem
- AST SpaceMobile hit by Class Action
- Optimism under threat at SES
- Rivada visits Terran Orbital’s manufacturing HQ
- Avanti wins spectrum debt obligation case
- SpaceX breaks records for re-use launchers
- IRIS2 already in trouble?
- Intelsat contemplates next steps