At 11:47 Beijing time on June 24, 2024 (20:47 Pacific Daylight Time on the 23rd), at the SLC-4E station of the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the "Falcon 9" carrier rocket was launched with 9 groups of 2 batches (G9-2) of 20 small second-generation "Starlink" satellites, and the satellites entered low earth orbit.
The Starlink G9-2 mission is the 46th batch launch of the "Starlink" low-orbit communication satellite constellation in 2024, the 176th batch launch of the constellation and the 89th batch launch of the second-generation "Starlink" satellites (both small second-generation "Starlink"/Starlink v2.0 mini). So far, the total number of "Starlink" satellites has reached 6,680, of which 1,030 will be launched in 2024.
The rocket used the 11th flight of the first stage B1075.11, using the Under-the-Line Recovery (ASDS), and the first stage landed on the deck of the OCISLY automatic recovery ship located in the Pacific Ocean 8 minutes and 12 seconds after ignition, which was the 322nd recovery landing (including return recovery/RTLS) of the first stage module of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rocket cores. On the morning of March 19, Beijing time, the first-level B1075.10 performed the Starlink G7-16 mission, 97 days after the mission.
This launch is the 64th space launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle into orbit in 2024, the 21st launch of Vandenberg Space Force Base, the 75th launch of the United States and the 120th launch of the world.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou