SpaceX launched 27 Starlink satellites on Monday using its new first stage booster from Vandenberg Space Military Base in California.
The Falcon 9's new first stage, designated B1091, is the second new stage introduced by SpaceX this year, following B1092, which was used on the Starlink mission in February.
The launch took place at 4:06 p.m. PT, but clouds obscured the process. The mission could have been launched Tuesday, starting at 2:13 p.m. PT.
After separating the stages, the booster landed on the Of Course I Still Love You drone in the Pacific Ocean. This was the 124th landing for the drone and the 428th landing for the booster overall to date.
The satellites were launched into low Earth orbit.
SpaceX also launched 28 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 40 on Saturday evening. The launch occurred at 11:07 p.m., marking the 19th flight of the rocket's first stage.
United Launch Alliance will launch an Atlas V rocket Wednesday from Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral, carrying 27 Amazon satellites. The launch window is 7 to 9 p.m.
This will be the heaviest payload yet for the Atlas V, which has five solid rocket boosters.
The satellites are the first production examples from Amazon, which plans to launch a total of 3,236 of the satellites.
Sourse: www.upi.com
