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A Falcon 9 carrying 22 Starlink satellites lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Dec. 8, 2023. Image: SpaceX.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted from the West Coast with another batch of satellites for SpaceXs Starlink network at 12:03 a.m. PST Friday (3:03 a.m. EST / 0803 UTC). Including Starship test flights this was SpaceXs 100th launch in 365 days.

The Starlink 7-8 mission began from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and departed on a south-easterly direction, targeting a 183178 mile (295286 km) orbit, inclined at 53 degrees to the equator. SpaceXs webcast encountered technical difficulties and did not show the liftoff. It was the fastest turnaround for SpaceXs West Coast launch pad with six days, 13 hours, 43 minutes and 57 seconds passing since the last launch from SLC-4E, beating the previous record set on Oct. 29, 2023, by almost 36 hours.

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The first stage booster, making its 13th flight, previously launched the NROL-87, NROL-85, SARah-1, SWOT, Transporter-8, Transporter-9 missions. Plus six previous Starlink delivery missions. After completing its burn, the first stage landed on the drone ship Of Course I still Love You stationed about 400 miles downrange (644km) in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California.

SpaceX confirmed deployment of the 22 Starlink satellites will occur just over an hour after launch in a social media post. This was the 40th launch of a batch of the V2 Mini Starlink model since it was introduced earlier this year. This new version is much larger than the previous V1.5 satellites and is equipped with upgraded antennae and larger solar panels, and are capable of delivering four times more bandwidth.

SpaceX recently announced earlier this year it had signed up over two million subscribers in more than 60 countries for its Starlink internet service. Prior to Fridays Starlink 7-8 mission it had launched 5,559 satellites according to statistics compiled by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, who maintains a space flight database. Of those satellites 5,186 remain in orbit and 5,147 appear to be working normally.

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Falcon 9 flies from California with 22 Starlink satellites, SpaceX's 100th launch in 365 days Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE Space fans were denied a treat of a double SpaceX launch on Tuesday night as the Starlink mission will be the only one going up.

The Space Launch Delta 45 announced on Tuesday afternoon that while the Starlink 6-34 mission is still a go for Tuesday night, the plannedUSSF-52 mission that includes a Boeing space planeis not longer scheduled for earlier in the evening and will now go up on Wednesday evening.

Originally, the two launches were set for Monday night, but were scrubbed, with the hope of trying again on Tuesday night. But it is not meant to be.

For the Starlink 6-34 mission, SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket is expected to leave Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 11 p.m. ET, stated Sapce Launch Delta 45, which is two minutes earlier than what SpaceX posted on Monday night.

SpaceX statedthe backup launch attempts will run between 11 p.m. ET until 2:58 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Dec. 13.

It was supposed to take off Monday at 11:05 p.m. ET, but SpaceX pushed it back. It did not give a reason.

For Tuesday nights launch, the 45th Weather Squadron is giving a 65% chanceof good liftoff conditions, with the primary concerns being liftoff winds and thick cloud layers andcumulus cloud rules.

The conditions for Monday were better for launch, with the squadron calling for 85% chance of good weather with liftoff winds being the only concern.

Go here to learn aboutNASAs launch weather criteria for the Falcon 9 rocket.

SpaceX was originally going to launch the Starlink 6-34 mission at 11 p.m. ET on Sunday but the weather was not playing along. Mother Nature forced the California-based company to switch the launch to Monday evening.

The Falcon 9 rockets first-stage booster, B1081, is quite young and only has two successful launches under its belt.

After the stage separation, the first-stage booster is expected to land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas that will be in the Atlantic Ocean.

Twenty-three Starlink satellites will meet thousands of their technical brothers and sisters. While in low-Earth orbit, they will provide internet services to many places around the planet, stated Starlink, a SpaceX company.

These Starlink V2 Mini satellites weigh quite a bit: Each one tips the scales at 1,760 pounds (800 kilograms).

Before the launch, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Dr. Jonathan McDowelldocumented the following Starlink satellite information.

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No double launch: Starlink will be flying solo on Tuesday night - News 13 Orlando

The FCC announced today that it wont award Elon Musks Starlink an $886 million subsidy from the Universal Service Fund for expanding broadband service in rural areas. The money would have come from the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund program (RDOF), but the FCC writes that Starlink wasnt able to demonstrate that it could deliver the promised service and that giving the subsidy to it wouldnt be the best use of limited Universal Service Fund dollars.

That was the same reason the FCC gave when it rejected Starlinks bid last year, which led to this appeal. SpaceX had previously won the bidding to roll out 100Mbps download and 20Mbps upload low-latency internet to 642,925 locations in 35 states, funded by the RDOF.

The FCC is tasked with ensuring consumers everywhere have access to high-speed broadband that is reliable and affordable, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said. This applicant had failed to meet its burden to be entitled to nearly $900 million in universal service funds for almost a decade. FCC commissioner Brendan Carr dissented, writing that the FCC did not require and has never required any other award winner to show that it met its service obligation years ahead of time.

Christopher Cardaci, head of legal at SpaceX, writes in a letter to the FCC that Starlink is arguably the only viable option to immediately connect many of the Americans who live and work in the rural and remote areas of the country where high-speed, low-latency internet has been unreliable, unaffordable, or completely unavailable, the very people RDOF was supposed to connect.

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Starlink loses out on $886 million in rural broadband subsidies - The Verge

A Falcon 9 rocket stands at the pad at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket is supporting the Starlink 6-33 mission for SpaceX. Image: Adam Bernstein

Update 12:20 a.m. EST: SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket and landed the booster on the droneship.

SpaceX hit another milestone with its overnight Starlink mission launch. The flight from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station marks the companys 90th orbital launch in 2023 and its 280th Falcon 9 launch to date. Liftoff of the Starlink 6-33 mission took place at 12:07 p.m. EST (0507 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40.

Weather for the mission was ideal at liftoff, but meteorologists kept their eye on the picture downrange as well. Liftoff winds were the only watch item in a forecast that predicts 95 percent favorable weather.

A secondary push of cold air will filter into the area [on Wednesday], bringing clear skies and a stronger pressure gradient over the Space Coast, the launch forecast stated. This will result in gusty surface winds through tomorrow evening which will slowly diminish through the launch window, so liftoff winds remain the only concern.

The forecast also noted that upper-level wind shear is considered low to moderate and was highlighted under the Additional Risk Criteria section.

The Starlink 6-33 mission marks the fourth fastest turnaround for SpaceXs workhorse launchpad, SLC-40, at four days, one hour, six minutes and 40 seconds since the last launch from here. This mission will be the 159th SpaceX orbital launch from this pad.

The first stage booster used for the launch was tail number 1077, which launched on its ninth flight with this mission. Notable previous launches include Crew-5 and GPS 3 Space Vehicle 06.

It landed on the drone ship, Just Read the Instructions, about eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff. The 23 satellites on board bring the total launched in 2023 up to 1,871.

Reposting an infographic from analytics firm BryceTech, SpaceX founder Elon Musk stated that the company is tracking to launch over 80 percent of all Earth payload to orbit this year. Its Q3 report states that out of the 63 orbital launches around the world, SpaceX accounted for 26 of them.

Broken down further, SpaceX launched significantly more to space than the rest of the world combined. It launched 519 spacecraft during Q3 compared to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the next closest, which launched 24 spacecraft.

The stat that Musk quoted from BryceTech was one that he often likes to hold up, which is spacecraft upmass to orbit. That chart shows in Q3, SpaceX launched 381,278 kg to orbit, followed by CASC at 24,560 kg and Roscosmos with 17,475 kg.

Meanwhile, over at Launch Complex 39A at NASAs Kennedy Space Center, teams continue to work towards what likely will end up being the final launch from that pad in 2023. The Falcon Heavy supporting the USSF-52 mission rolled back into the adjacent hanger Tuesday evening in anticipation of integrating the X-37B spaceplane onto the rocket.

Launch of the ninth Falcon Heavy to date continues to target Dec. 10.

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SpaceX sends 23 Starlink satellites to orbit on 90th Falcon launch of 2023 Spaceflight Now - Spaceflight Now

Home WATCH LIVE: SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Set for Tonight from Cape Canaveral Carrying Starlink Satellites

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, December 12 for a Falcon 9 launch of 23Starlinksatellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Liftoff is targeted for 11:00 p.m. ET, with backup opportunities available until 2:58 a.m. ET on Wednesday, December 13.

If needed, additional opportunities are also available on Wednesday, December 13 starting at 11:07 p.m. ET.

A live webcast of this mission will begin onX @SpaceXabout five minutes prior to liftoff.Watch live.

This is the third flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched the Crew-7 and CRS-29 missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

Coverage of the launch can be seen on Space Coast Daily TV.

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WATCH LIVE: SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Launch Set for Tonight from Cape Canaveral Carrying Starlink Satellites - SpaceCoastDaily.com