SpaceX's first Falcon 9 rocket launch of 2022 will be the 35th Starlink mission dedicated to building the broadband satellite constellation, designated as Starlink 4-5 (Group 4 Launch 5). The mission is scheduled to liftoff on Thursday, January 6 at 4:49 p.m. Eastern Time from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The company says that a backup launch opportunity is also available for Friday, January 7 at 4:28 p.m. EST, if for whatever reason the mission gets delayed.
Targeting January 6 at 4:49 p.m. EST for Falcon 9’s launch of 49 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit from LC-39A in Florida
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 6, 2022
The previously-flown Falcon 9 booster that will conduct the Starlink 4-5 mission will launch a total of 49 Starlink satellites to Low Earth Orbit. The first-stage booster, identified as B1062-4, previously supported three spaceflights: the U.S. Space Force’s GPS III-4 navigation satellite deployment in November 2020, as well as the GPS III-5 launch in June 2021. The booster also launched SpaceX Inspiration4 Mission, the world’s first all-civilian mission to orbit the Earth in September last year. The booster will be recovered a fourth time; It will reenter Earth’s atmosphere to land on the ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’ autonomous droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. It is always amazing to watch a booster land. SpaceX will transmit a Live broadcast of this mission15 minutes ahead of liftoff, you can watch it in the video linked below.
The 49 Starlink satellite batch will be deployed approximately 15-minutes after liftoff. After deployment the constellation size will increase to 1,993 satellites in Low Earth Orbit. SpaceX plans to launch at least 12,000 internet-beaming satellites to connect the world to high-speed satellite internet. The company is primarily focused on connecting rural communities where internet service is unreliable or completely unavailable. For more information visit SpaceX’s official website Starlink.com.
Featured Images Source: SpaceX
About the Author
Evelyn Janeidy Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
