ORLANDO, Fla. — The Space Coast was treated to a record 58th launch out over the Atlantic on Saturday night as SpaceX sent up yet another late-night Starlink mission from Cape Canaveral.
A Falcon 9 carrying 23 more of its internet satellites lifted off from Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 10:17 p.m. on a southerly trajectory flight, so it was visible down Florida’s eastern coast.
The first-stage booster made its fourth flight with a recovery landing downrange in the Atlantic on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas.
The Space Coast had a record 57 launches in 2022, which it equaled four days ago when SpaceX sent up its last Starlink mission.
SpaceX has been responsible for all but four of the launches from either Cape Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center, with the others coming from United Launch Alliance and Relativity Space.
SpaceX has also been busy in California tacking on another 22 missions in 2023, including another Starlink launch that took off early Saturday from Vandenberg Space Force Base. It also has attempted one launch of its new Starship and Falcon Heavy from Texas.
Among Florida and California orbital launches, Elon Musk’s company has now flown 76 times, remaining on a pace to approach 100 launches before the end of the year.
Saturday’s Space Coast launch marks the 275th successful orbital launch among its Falcon family of rockets while also nailing its 238th booster recovery and the 210th time a booster has been reflown.
