SpaceX marked 100 successful missions from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday
Jamie Groh
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station accompanied the cool crisp fall-like weather Thursday morning on the Space Coast.
At 10:50 a.m. EDT, the 230-foot rocket vaulted away from pad 40 carrying 54 more of the company's Starlink internet-beaming satellites to orbit.
A short time after liftoff the 162-foot Falcon 9 first stage booster somersaulted for a landing on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
Thursday's launch marked the 63rd dedicated Starlink mission for the company and brought the total amount of Starlink satellites launched to over 3,500. It was also SpaceX's 100th successful launch from pad 40 in Florida, according to SpaceX webcast host Siva Bharadvaj.
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The interweaving satellite constellation overhead delivers high-speed, low-latency internet services to areas around the world that otherwise wouldn't have access to it.
Last week SpaceX CEO Elon Musk posted to Twitter that while the company has supplied Ukraine's government and military with Starlink terminals and services throughout its war with Russia, it "has cost SpaceX $80 million and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year."
CNN reported that SpaceX made a request to the Pentagon for the U.S. government to take over financing of the effort. Musk later rescinded the request in a Twitter post promising to continue to front the bill.
Last month, after Category 4 Hurricane Ian caused widespread devastation across Florida, SpaceX supplied Starlink user terminals to the state for use by officials to aid in recovery efforts. The cost of that effort was also picked up by SpaceX according to the governor.
Thursday's Starlink mission marked the 46th launch from Florida's Space Coast this year. The Eastern Range which consists of both Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center is on pace to support a total of 66 launches by year's end, according to the Space Force.
While another Starlink mission could be penciled in by the end of this month, October's most notable launch should occur sometime during the last week, possibly on Halloween. That's when SpaceX is expected to ignite the 27 engines of a three-core Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time since June 2019.
Liftoff of the Space Force's USSF-44 mission will take place from Kennedy Space Center and will feature a double booster landing attempt, and double sonic booms, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's two landing zones.
For the latest, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Jamie Groh is a space reporter for Florida Today. You can contact her at JGroh@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AlteredJamie.