SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – SpaceX launched a batch of Starlink satellites Friday from California.
The Falcon 9 launch of 51 Starlink satellites, initially set for no earlier than 5:50 p.m. EST Thursday, was pushed back to 1:38 p.m. EST Friday due to unfavorable weather conditions, WKMG in Orlando reported.
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Due to unfavorable recovery weather conditions today, team is resetting Falcon 9’s launch of Starlink from California for Friday, March 3 at 10:38 a.m. PT https://t.co/Wy2uOHdez4
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 2, 2023
The satellites launched from the Space Launch Complex 4 East at California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, the company said in a release.
According to SpaceX officials, the satellites will be sent into low-Earth orbit and the Falcon 9′s first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
The first-stage booster supporting the mission has also launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, ISI EROS C-3 and two Starlink missions, according to SpaceX.
The launch follows the Crew-6 mission, which successfully took off early Thursday from Kennedy Space Center in Brevard County.
All aboard the orbiting laboratory! The four members of our @SpaceX #Crew6 mission have entered the @space_station and were greeted at their welcoming ceremony. Next: a safety briefing and orientation, then the new arrivals are off to catch some sleep. pic.twitter.com/wegjRG0qjs
— NASA (@NASA) March 3, 2023
The Florida launch sent NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev toward the International Space Station in a Dragon spacecraft.