UPDATE: 6:42 p.m. EDT: SpaceX has adjusted the mission’s T-0 launch time.
SpaceX is set to conduct its second Falcon 9 launch today, following a planned mission from Florida for satellite communications company SES. SpaceX is looking to launch another batch of Starlink satellites, including 13 with direct cell (DTC) capabilities.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Command Base in California is scheduled for 8:40 p.m. PDT (11:40 p.m. EDT, 3:40 a.m. UTC). This will mark the 20th orbital launch from California so far in 2024.
Spaceflight Now will begin live coverage approximately 30 minutes before launch.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, designated B1082 in the SpaceX fleet, This will be the spacecraft’s fifth launch, having previously supported the United States Space Force’s mission 62 (USSF-62) and three Starlink flights.
A little over eight minutes after liftoff, B1082 is scheduled to land on SpaceX’s drone vehicle, “Of Course I Still Love You.” If successful, it will mark the 93rd booster landing on OCISLY and the 320th booster landing overall.
Despite the unusually long period without launches (from June 8 to June 18), SpaceX remains confident it will meet or exceed its orbital launch goals for this year.
“There is still ample opportunity for the 148 launches to occur, and in fact we may attempt several more launches this year,” John Edwards, SpaceX’s vice president of Falcon rockets, said in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).