Merritt Island, United States - August 02, 2024

Early morning on August 2, SpaceX achieved another milestone in its Starlink satellite program by successfully launching 23 new satellites into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This launch marks a significant recovery for SpaceX following a setback on July 11.

A Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the Starlink payload, lifted off at 1:01 a.m. EDT (0501 GMT). The launch proceeded smoothly, with the Falcon 9's first stage executing a precise landing on the SpaceX droneship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, about eight minutes after liftoff. This marked the 12th successful launch and landing for this particular booster, underscoring SpaceX's commitment to reusability.

The upper stage of the Falcon 9 deployed the 23 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit approximately 64 minutes after liftoff. This successful deployment adds to SpaceX's growing constellation aimed at providing global broadband coverage.

Friday's mission was SpaceX's fourth launch in less than a week, demonstrating the company's rapid cadence in satellite deployments following the earlier technical issue. A July 11 launch failure due to a liquid oxygen leak led to the loss of 20 Starlink satellites. SpaceX has since identified and addressed the issue to prevent future occurrences.