SpaceX launches 46 more Starlinks, breaks its own previous record
Starlink 'Group 3-02' has entered near-polar orbit
SpaceX has confirmed the placement of 46 new Starlink internet satellites, completing its 52nd privately funded dedicated broadband launch. The company has launched 2,904 Starlink satellites to date, including decommissioned satellites. A Falcon 9 v1.2 FT BL5 rocket launched the Starlinks (Starlink-52, Group 3-02) from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on July 22, 2022 at 5:39 pm UTC (1:39 pm EDT). The payload, forty-six Starlink satellites, were placed in a final orbit of 97.6 degrees of inclination in a south-southwest trajectory with an average altitude of 540 km.
After the separation of the stages, the 'core' of the first stage landed on the drone ferry ASDS "Of Course I Still Love You(OCISLY), stationed in the Pacific Ocean. Falcon 9's first stage (B1071) previously launched three missions: NROL-87, NROL-85 and SARah-1. Debris re-entry from the second stage was planned for the South Pacific.
The mission stats:
166th of a Falcon 9 rocket since 2010
174th launch of the Falcon rocket family since 2006
4th launch of Falcon 9 B1071 booster
108th flight of a reused Falcon booster
52nd dedicated launch of Starlink satellites
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