With the dust settling following the launches of Blue Origin’s New Glenn and SpaceX’s Starship last week and two consequential mishap investigations underway, business returns to usual this week. SpaceX is set to dominate the week, with four SpaceX Starlink missions scheduled.
SpaceX continues its drive to launch approximately 7,500 v2 Mini Starlink satellites into orbit. At the start of this week, 2,963 have been launched, and of those, 97 have deorbited, leaving 2,866 in orbit.
A new, lighter version of the v2 Mini satellites has now been produced in recent months. This version masses approximately 575 kg at launch, nearly 22% less than the original v2 Mini design, allowing Falcon 9 to launch more satellites to orbit per launch. While a recent report suggested as many as 29 may be carried, Starlink Group 11-8 is set to launch 27 satellites on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 13-1
This week’s first launch will mark the start of a new group for the Starlink constellation — Group 13. Falcon 9 will launch from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 12:59 AM EST (05:59 UTC) during a four-hour launch window.
The expected payload of 21 Starlink v2 Mini satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capabilities, will launch to a 43-degree inclination orbit on a southeasterly trajectory into an initial orbit of approximately 272 km by 283 km.
The booster supporting this mission is not yet known. SpaceX’s autonomous droneship A Shortfall Of Gravitas will be stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean for booster recovery operations.
Falcon 9 is a 3.9-meter diameter, 70-meter-tall two-stage rocket. Nine Merlin 1D engines power the first stage booster, while the second stage utilizes a single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are the first and only reusable orbital rockets in service today, with one Falcon booster having flown twenty-five flights. The two payload fairings are also recovered and reused after flights.
If current schedules hold, this will be SpaceX’s ninth mission in 2025 and its 443rd mission overall.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 11-8
Falcon 9 was set to launch a batch of Starlink satellites for the Starlink Group 11-8 mission on Sunday, Jan. 18, from California, but was ultimately scrubbed at T-11 seconds due to a wayward aircraft. Group 11-8 is now set to launch on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 7:24 AM PST (15:24 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base (VSFB).
Falcon 9 will fly a southeasterly trajectory to insert a batch of 27 v2 Mini satellites into a 274 km by 285 km orbit inclined 53 degrees. The increased number of satellites is believed to result from the design’s mass reduction.
The booster, B1082, will land atop SpaceX’s west coast autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You, which will be stationed downrange in the Pacific. B1082 will fly for the tenth time, having previously flown the USSF-62, OneWeb #20, and seven Starlink missions. Its first flight was on Jan. 3, 2024, and all of its missions have been flown from VSFB.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 11-6
SpaceX’s next Starlink launch and second launch of the week from California will be the Group 11-6 mission, which will launch from SLC-4E at VSFB. The four-hour launch window opens on Friday, Jan. 24, at 5:54 AM PST (13:54 UTC).
The currently unknown booster will land atop Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific following launch and stage separation.
Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 10-12
Completing SpaceX’s batch of Starlink missions for the week will be Starlink Group 10-12, which will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Launch is scheduled for the opening of a four-hour launch window on Friday, Jan. 24, at 5:45 PM EST (22:45 UTC).
The booster and recovery assets supporting this mission are not yet known.
(Lead Image: Falcon 9 launches into the Florida skies. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)
The post Launch Roundup: SpaceX returns to launching Starlink following Starship launch appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.
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