SpaceX, ULA launch back-to-back rockets in under 5 hours at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

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5 days ago

Kicking off the workweek with an action-packed morning, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station hosted two rocket launches within four hours and 46 minutes on Monday, June 23.
First, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 1:58 a.m. from Launch Complex 40. The Falcon 9 deployed 27 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit after ascending along a northeasterly trajectory.
Next, shortly after sunrise, United Launch Alliance launched an Atlas V rocket sporting five solid rocket boosters at 6:54 a.m. on Amazon's second Project Kuiper internet constellation mission. That rocket also lifted off to the northeast from Launch Complex 41 at the Space Force installation.
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Amazon's Project Kuiper doubled in size from a modest 27 satellites to 54 with the June 23 launch. At the other end of the spectrum, more than 7,800 Starlink satellites are functioning in low-Earth orbit, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Both rockets had scrubbed during previous unsuccessful launch countdowns the past week. The Falcon 9 aborted liftoff June 22 with only 58 seconds remaining in the launch countdown after an issue emerged with its autonomous flight termination system. Meanwhile, the Atlas V scrub occurred June 16 after an elevated purge temperature was detected within a booster engine.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch clocked in as the 52nd orbital rocket launch thus far this year from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center. ULA's Project Kuiper launch swiftly upped that running total to 53.
The Starlink mission marked the Falcon 9 first-stage booster's 25th flight, SpaceX reported. The booster previously launched CRS-24, Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13F, OneWeb 1, SES-18 and SES-19 and 20 Starlink missions.
Following stage separation, the booster landed on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
Nicknamed "The Bruiser," the Atlas V variant with five solid rocket boosters has now flown 16 times in that configuration since 2006. Atlas V rockets have previously launched the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto, the Juno orbiter to Jupiter, national security missions and the maiden Project Kuiper mission on April 28.
ULA's next launch — which has not been scheduled yet — will be the USSF-106 mission, the first Vulcan rocket mission for the Space Force.
Next on the Eastern Range schedule, a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency navigational advisory shows SpaceX is targeting a 4½-hour launch window Wednesday afternoon for another Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. More details:
Launch window: 12:33 p.m. to 5:03 p.m.
Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Sonic booms: No.
Trajectory: Northeast.
Live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space.
For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space. Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly Space newsletter.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at [e-mail]. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Starlink, Amazon Project Kuiper satellites launch during same morning