Watch the Launch

Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Starlink Mission

On December 18 at 4:41 a.m. PST, Falcon 9 launched 52 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, completing the firs...

Starlink Group 4-4

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Low Earth Orbit
Mission: Communications

Low Earth Orbit Space Launch Complex 4E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
B1051 - Of Course I Still Love You

A batch of 52 satellites for Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.

Updates

Nosu • Dec. 18, 2021, 1:12 p.m.

Successful launch of of 52 Starlink satellites


SwGustav • Dec. 18, 2021, 12:49 a.m.

New T-0


Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 17, 2021, 8:34 a.m.

SpaceX confirmed static fire complete.



Cosmic_Penguin • Dec. 15, 2021, 2:32 a.m.

New launch time and satellite batch name.


Falcon 9

Family:
Configuration: Block 5

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

See Details
Specifications
  • Stages
    2
  • Length
    70.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    549.0 T
  • Thrust
    7607.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon 9
  • Family
  • Variant
    Block 5
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Falcon 9 Block 5
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $52000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    22800.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    8300.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


B1051

Status: Expended


Type: Core
Flight Proven: Yes
First Flight: March 2, 2019
Last Flight: November 12, 2022
Flights: 14
Landings Attempted: 13
Landings Successful: 13
Previous B1051 Flights

Landing Information

B1051 has successfully landed on ASDS OCISLY after its eleventh launch.

Result: Successful Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship landing at Of Course I Still Love You.

SpaceX

SpaceX

(SpX)

CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 714 Failures: 15 Pending: 129

Agency Type:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

INFO WIKI
Teslarati

SpaceX completes second Falcon 9 launch and landing in 15 hours

SpaceX has successfully completed two Falcon 9 launches and booster landings in just 15 hours, delivering around 20 metric tons (44,000 lb)...

Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from California on unusual coast-hugging trajectory

SpaceX deployed 52 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit early Saturday after a predawn launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California that routed a Falcon 9 rocket on an unusual track southeast from the West Coast spaceport …

Spaceflight Now

SpaceX two-for-two in company’s first Falcon 9 launch doubleheader

Fifteen hours after hurling a package of Starlink internet satellites into orbit from California, SpaceX launched a high-power geostationary communications spacecraft for Turkey from Cape Canaveral late Saturday, the first time two Falcon …

SpaceNews

Falcon 9 sets reuse milestone with Starlink launch

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a new set of Starlink satellites Dec. 18, setting a new reusability mark for the vehicle in the process.

Arstechnica

Rocket Report: SpaceX plans a Falcon 9 flurry, Bill Gates buys into rockets

SpaceX seeks to launch three mission in 72 hours to close out 2021.

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 4E


Long March 2D
Success
10 hours, 34 minutes ago
PIESAT-2 13-16
Launch Complex 9 - Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

4 X-band synthetic-aperture radar Earth observation satellites for the Chinese Earth observation satellite company PIESAT.


Electron
Success
18 hours, 2 minutes ago
Owl By The Dozen (StriX Launch 12)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Synthetic aperture radar satellite for Japanese Earth imaging company Synspective.


Soyuz 2.1b/Fregat-M
Success
2 days, 4 hours ago
Glonass-K1 No. 20 (?)
43/3 (43L) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Note: Satellite serial number and Cosmos designation not confirmed. Glonass-K are the third generation of satellite design for GLONASS satellite n…


Kuaizhou 11
Success
2 days, 18 hours ago
SpaceTY-51 & 52
Launch Area 95A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

2 Earth observation radar satellites built by the Chinese satellite manufacturer SpaceTY.


Falcon 9
Success
2 days, 20 hours ago
USSF-259
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

USSF-259 is a classified mission for the United States Space Force. It is possibly a batch of classified LEO satellites based on SpaceX’s Starshield …


Long March 12
Success
2 days, 20 hours ago
SatNet LEO Group 25
Commercial LC-2 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

A batch of 9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites for the Chinese state owned SatNet constellation operated by the China Satellite Network Group.…


Soyuz 2.1b
Success
3 days, 7 hours ago
Progress MS-35 (96P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Gravity-1
Success
3 days, 23 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #16
Yellow Sea (launch location 5) - Haiyang Oriental Spaceport

9 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with …


Zhuque-2E Block 2
Success
4 days, 14 hours ago
SpaceSail Polar Group #15
Launch Area 96A - Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, People's Republic of China

10 Low Earth Orbit communication satellites with Ku, Q and V band payloads for the G60 constellation operated by Shanghai Spacesail Technologies with…


Vega-C
Success
4 days, 20 hours ago
Sentinel-3C & FLEX
Ariane Launch Area 1 (ELV) - Guiana Space Centre, French Guiana

Sentinel-3C is the third satellite in the Sentinel-3 constellation, which provides high-accuracy optical, radar and altimetry data for marine and lan…