In the fourth Leap Day launch in history, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Space Flight Now
SpaceX took advantage of weather delays by launching astronauts from Florida’s Space Coast. The company launched a group of Starlink satellites from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday morning.
The launch of the Starlink 6-40 mission on Leap Day added 23 Mini Starlink Version 2 satellites to the growing low-Earth orbit constellation. The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at 10:30 EDT (1530 UTC).
This is the fourth time in history that an orbital launch has been carried out on February 29. Japan, Russia and China can also claim to have launched it on a day that only happens once every four years.
About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the first stage booster, tail number B1076, landed on the Read Only Teachings drone, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the 11th booster flight and 73rd drone landing.
The launch was only possible on Thursday due to bad weather in the Atlantic Ocean in the far north. Weather forecasters at the launch predicted that if a flight abort were necessary during the Crew-8 mission’s ascent to the International Space Station, conditions would be unsafe for the rescue crew and astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft.
NASA and SpaceX have set a new target launch date for this mission of March 2.
SpaceX was able to launch its 12th Starlink mission of the year, despite cloudy conditions around Florida’s Space Coast on February 29, 2024. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now
2024-02-29 19:03:28
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