SpaceX launches Starlink satellites from Florida ahead of thunderstorm
May 24 (UPI) -- SpaceX on Saturday afternoon launched 23 more Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from Florida before a thunderstorm struck the area.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Pad 40 at 1:19 p.m. The first-stage booster landed about eight minutes later on the private company's drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the booster's 24th mission, including 18 Starlink missions and a commercial resupply services flight to the International Space Station.
SpaceX has completed 451 booster landings since Dec. 2015 from Florida and California.
It was the 44th Starlink launch of the year from Florida at Cape Canaveral or Kennedy Space Center, Florida Today reported.
At 11:55 a.m., the temperature was 89 degrees with a heat index of 100, according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne.
After liftoff, a severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the area until 4:30 p.m. There were scattered to severe storms across east central Florida with hail, damaging winds and lightning, according to Space Coast Daily.
On Friday, SpaceX launched 27 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
From the Kennedy Space Center on June 8, SpaceX is planning to launch the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff for the Falcon 9 is scheduled for 9:11 a.m. from Pad 39A. The four astronauts plan to spend 14 days at the ISS.
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