A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is poised to break its own record Monday when its first stage booster attempts its 34th flight. The mission will launch 29 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with liftoff scheduled for 5:15 p.m. EDT. Forecasters gave the mission a 70% chance of acceptable weather, though cumulus clouds and surface electric fields could pose challenges. Spaceflight Now will provide live coverage starting about an hour before the planned launch. The booster, designated B1067, has already flown 33 times since joining SpaceX’s fleet in 2021. Its flight history includes high-profile missions like Crew-3, Crew-4, and the Turksat 5B satellite launch, along with 22 previous Starlink deployments. If successful, this will be the first time any rocket booster has flown more than 30 times. The booster’s reusability is a key factor in SpaceX’s cost-saving strategy. Each flight reduces the need for new hardware, lowering the cost of launching satellites. B1067 is expected to land on the drone ship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ in the Atlantic Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. This mission follows SpaceX’s recent achievement of launching the first reused Falcon 9 booster for a Starlink mission in 2023. The company has steadily increased the number of flights per booster over the past decade, with B1067 now leading the pack. The launch window closes at 6:15 p.m. EDT, giving the team a one-hour window to attempt liftoff. If weather conditions worsen, the mission could be delayed to Tuesday.
Space & Tech
SpaceX Falcon 9 booster to attempt record 34th flight from Cape Canaveral
A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster will attempt a historic 34th flight Monday as part of a Starlink mission launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Source: Spaceflight Now