Starlink 16

Weather Forecast at Launch Time

Weather officials are predicting a 70% chance of favorable weather conditions at launch time. The forecast calls for a temperature of 56F with overcast clouds, cloud cover of 92% and wind speeds at 12mph.

Mission

Starlink 16

Type: Communications

A batch of 60 satellites for Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.

Location

Launch Complex 39A

Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

182 launches have been at this location.

Rocket

Falcon 9 Block 5

Length: 70 meters
Diameter: 3.65 meters
First Launched: May 11, 2018

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

The Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket has been launched a total of 48 times with 48 successful and 0 failed launches.

Landing

B1051 will attempt to land on ASDS JRTI after its 8th launch.

Just Read the Instructions – JRTI

The third ASDS barge, Just Read the Instructions (JRTI) services launches in the Pacific Ocean for launches from Vandenberg AFB. It was first put to use in January of 2016 to attempt to recover a Falcon 9 first-stage booster from the Jason-3 mission which successfully landed but subsequently fell over and experienced an Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (RUD).

Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship – ASDS

An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.

Agency

SpaceX

Type: Commercial
Abbreviation: SpX
Administration: CEO: Elon Musk
Founded: 2002
Launchers: Falcon
Spacecraft: Dragon
Country: USA

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX has many pads, on the East Coast of the US they own SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral and LC-39A at the Kennedy Space Center for their lower inclination launches. They also own SLC-4E at Vandenberg, California for their high inclination launches. Another site is also being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.