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.
VIDEO: WATCH SPACEX LAUNCH THE STARLINK 4-5 MISSION!
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.
