Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch 250th mission from SLC-40

Date:
Mon, 05 May 2025 21:57:18 +0000

Description:
SpaceX is on course to launch its 250th mission from SLC-40 in Florida this week. The post Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch 250th mission from SLC-40 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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SpaceX is on course to launch its 250th mission from SLC-40 in Florida this week. The company has three Starlink missions planned in the coming days and continues to reach new milestones. SpaceX has now exceeded 250 dedicated Starlink launches, which it reached during last weeks Starlink Group 12-23 mission.

The company also continues to push the limits of its Falcon 9 vehicle, launching a record 29 Starlink satellites on Sunday, May 4th. This mission also marked SpaceXs 50th mission of the year and the 100th successful consecutive Falcon 9 landing since the last landing failure, with booster B1078 becoming the ninth booster in the fleet to reach 20 flights.



While SpaceX will continue to dominate the launch manifest, other companies agencies, and countries are continuing to fly, including China. The first launch attempt of the week, a Chang Zheng 12A, was scrubbed early on Monday, May 5. This mission may be rescheduled for later this week, but the reason
for the scrub has not been officially declared. Onboard was the fourth batch of Xingwang satellites for the Guowang network one of two megaconstellations China hopes to rival Starlink in the future.

Last months launch manifest made it the busiest April in history, with 26 rockets launching worldwide. The final six missions also set a new global launch record, with six launches conducted within 18 hours between April 28 and 29. This pace is expected to continue throughout May, with additional Starlink missions, crew launches, and more on the schedule.





Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-93

The first Starlink mission of the week is expected to launch from Space
Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday, May 6. The four-hour launch window opens at 8:22 PM EDT (00:22 UTC on May 7).

SpaceX continues to gradually increase the number of satellites Falcon 9 can carry with this mission. A batch of 28 Starlink v2 Mini satellites will be onboard this flight, marking the fourth time a Falcon 9 has launched 28 satellites. Each of these missions flew to the Group 6 shell of the constellation. This will be the 77th mission to deliver Starlink satellites into the constellations largest shell, Group 6, which saw its first launch in February 2023. The Group 6-1 mission lofted the first batch of v2 Mini satellites, offering four times the bandwidth of its v1 and v1.5
predecessors.

The flight will fly on a southeasterly trajectory following liftoff. The booster supporting this mission has yet to be confirmed. It is expected to land on one of SpaceXs two autonomous droneships stationed on the east coast, which will be positioned downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. Starlink 6-84

A calm, early morning at KSC shattered by 9 raging Merlin 1D's and a record
29 Starlink V2 mini's off to LEO.

May the 4th be with you.

@NASASpaceflight

https://t.co/2HkyCSug4P pic.twitter.com/YL0do9evad

Max Evans (@_mgde_) May 4, 2025



Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-91

Another Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch from Florida on Friday, May 9, with the four-hour launch window opening at 2:54 AM EDT (06:54 UTC). If schedules hold, this mission is expected to be the 250th Falcon launch from SLC-40.

Last week marked 20 years since the last Titan rocket launch from SLC-40, carrying the NROL-16 mission to orbit on April 30, 2005. The pad underwent five years of extensive transformation for the Falcon 9 v1.0 vehicle before its maiden flight lifted off in June of 2010. Since that first Falcon 9 flight, SLC-40 has been the most active launch complex in the world. The pad recently surpassed its 300th orbital launch with the Bandwagon 3 mission less than two weeks ago, and is now set to support its 250th Falcon mission.

Despite the 6-91 mission number, this will be the 78th Starlink mission to
the Group 6 shell. The quantity of Starlink v2 Mini satellites onboard is currently unknown, as is the identity of the first stage booster and the autonomous droneship on which it is expected to land approximately eight minutes into the mission.

At the start of the week, SpaceX had launched over 8,400 Starlink satellites, of which nearly 1,100 have deorbited. At any given time, a number are still moving into their final positions, which can take weeks. The constellation currently accounts for over 63% of the approximately 11,600 active satellites in orbit.



Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 15-3

The third Starlink mission for the week has been delayed from last week due
to bad weather conditions. Starlink Group 15-3 will liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Friday, May 10, at 5:00 PM PDT (00:00 UTC on May 10).

Onboard Falcon 9 will be 26 Starlink v2 Mini satellites. Since late March,
all Starlink missions from Vandenberg have carried batches of 27 satellites into other shells, except for the Starlink Group 15-1 mission, which lofted
22 satellites into the new Group 15 shell in February. This is common when SpaceX mixes the v2 Mini and the Direct-to-Cell satellite variants. Since the Direct-to-Cell Starlinks are around 20% heavier than the v2 Minis, fewer v2 Mini satellites can be carried when both variants are flown together.

This mission will fly on a southeasterly trajectory to place the payload into an orbit inclined at 70 degrees. Booster B1081 is expected to land on the autonomous droneship Of Course I Still Love You , which will be stationed downrange in the Pacific Ocean. This booster has been active since September 2023 and is flying for the 14th time. It has previously supported two Transporter missions and the Crew-7 and CRS-29 missions, which both launched to the International Space Station. It has also lofted the EarthCARE and PACE Earth-observation satellites.

(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches into the Florida sky. Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)



The post Launch Roundup: SpaceX to launch 250th mission from SLC-40 appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/05/launch-roundup-050525/


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