Tuesday’s launch was noteworthy for a couple of other reasons. First, it marked the 37th flight for SpaceX’s fleet-leading Falcon 9 first stage booster, a new record. The timing of the launch shortly before sunrise also allowed skywatchers up the East Coast to catch a glimpse of the Falcon 9 as it rocketed northeast from Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX’s launch team poses with a Falcon 9 rocket at Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Credit:
SpaceX
“Super proud of this incredible team,” Dontchev continued. “You’ve made Falcon 9 the most reliable launch vehicle in history. You also helped build the largest low-Earth orbit satellite constellation providing connectivity to millions around the world, and you’ve set the foundation for what’s next.”
SpaceX launched around 260 Starlink missions on Falcon 9 from Florida, but all future Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launches from Florida will carry customer payloads. The next one is scheduled for August 30, when a Falcon Heavy rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center with NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Next will be a Falcon 9 launch in mid-September to deliver the next four-person crew to the International Space Station.
Officials eventually plan to phase out the Falcon 9 in favor of Starship, at least for commercial missions, raising concerns among SpaceX customers about the availability of reliable launch services after 2028.
SpaceX is still holding to plans to begin launching Starship and Super Heavy boosters from Launch Complex 39A by the end of this year. That is unlikely, given the amount of work remaining to prepare the site, and little indication of any imminent plans to transport Starships from SpaceX’s operational factory in South Texas to Florida. A Starship debut from Kennedy Space Center by mid-2027 seems more likely.
Starship is sized to launch up to 60 Starlink Version 3 satellites, which are larger, heavier, and more powerful than the Starlink V2s flying on Falcon 9. SpaceX plans to use the next test flight of Starship, designated Flight 14, to launch the first Starlink V3s into low-Earth orbit from Starbase, Texas, as soon as next month.