SpaceX to Launch Starlink Satellites in First Mission of New Year at Vandenberg SFB | Local News
A 51-satellite Starlink mission will land in the new year at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
The Falcon 9 rocket, built by Space Exploration Technologies, will lift off Monday night from Space Launch Complex-4 at the South Base.
The immediate launch opportunity will be at 8:15 p.m. Monday, with a backup opportunity set for 8:02 p.m. Tuesday, SpaceX said Saturday.
The placement of satellites in space determines the planned time for the launch of missiles.
Boaters were advised to stay out of the ocean area off the southern base from approximately 4:30pm until 10:30pm on Monday. Likewise, pilots were advised of a space launch at Vandenberg between 7:50 p.m. and 10:27 p.m. Monday.
Missile launches may be delayed due to technical problems or adverse weather.
The 229-meter-long rocket will put another set of Starlink satellites into orbit.
Deployment of the 51 satellites will begin 29 minutes after liftoff, according to SpaceX.
Starlink, a business led by SpaceX, includes thousands of satellites to create a constellation to provide Internet access to remote areas of the planet and places where service is unreliable.
So far, SpaceX has put 3,666 satellites into orbit, but only 3,107 spacecraft were operational as of Friday, according to an online report by Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and author/editor of a newsletter detailing. satellite launches.
Eight minutes after liftoff, SpaceX aims to land the spent first-stage booster on a drone ship, called Of Course I Still Love You, positioned in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles south of the Central Coast.
This means that local residents will not hear the noises that usually accompany a return to Vandenberg.
SpaceX rocket launches and landings usually draw spectators to the Lompoc Valley.
Vandenberg has limited access, but several locations around the Lompoc Valley offer views of the launch and landing sites, which are south of West Ocean Avenue (Highway 246).
Locations include west of Lompoc, the top of Harris Grade Road and near the intersection of Moonglow and Stardust roads. Providence Landing Park, at 699 Mercury Ave. in Vandenberg Village, is also a popular gathering spot along West Ocean Avenue west of Lompoc’s city limits.
A live stream of the mission can be found about five minutes before launch time on SpaceX’s website or its YouTube channel.
