SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket has successfully deployed 53 Starlink satellites in its 40th launch of the year. The mission, named Starlink Group 5-11, saw the older-generation Starlink V1.5 satellites deployed in an orbit inclined 43 degrees to the equator over the Western Pacific Ocean. The launch took place from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida, at 3:10 a.m. EDT (0710 UTC) on Monday. The booster supporting the mission, B1073, flew and landed for the ninth time, with its landing occurring on the deck of SpaceX’s autonomous spaceport drone ship, Just Read the Instructions (JRTI), stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX also intends to launch the Transporter 8 rideshare mission from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base later on Monday.
