The 19th launch in 2023 is in the books this Friday evening for SpaceX launching twin broadcast satellites SES 18 & 19 (a Luxembourg company) from launch complex 40 Cape Canaveral Florida at 7:38 PM EDT. Performing a double header this launch was just four hours after their 18th successful launch earlier in the day from Vandenberg California with their own Starlink satellites on board.
First stage booster B-1069-6 made it’s sixth flight to space and landed on JRTI (Just Read The Instructions) drone ship down range approximately 672 km in the Atlantic ocean. This marks the 179th booster landing for the SpaceX team with 151 previously flown Falcon 9 boosters. A truly incredible feat.
Ground level winds at the pad were windy but the launch still was able to proceed on time.
Also in Port Canaveral the SpaceX first stage booster B-1073 from the NASA CRS-27 resupply mission to the ISS has been off loaded from ASOG (A Shortfall Of Gravitas) and is back on land.
Summary by Scott Schilke for spacenews.lu and space-news.es
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