SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Monday, April 6, following a Sunday scrub due to upper-level wind shears. A second SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink mission is scheduled for Thursday night, while a Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV defense launch was set for Tuesday morning as part of a busy week of launches from the California base.
The first SpaceX launch this week occurred on Monday after a Sunday attempt was scrubbed. A crew member stated, “We are scrubbed today due to upper-level wind shears,” just before the planned Easter Sunday liftoff.
Monday’s mission successfully carried 25 Starlink satellites to orbit using a new Falcon 9 booster. The rocket’s first stage landed on the Pacific Ocean drone ship Of Course I Still Love You after separation.
Tuesday’s scheduled launch from Vandenberg involved Northrop Grumman, not SpaceX. The Minotaur IV rocket was set to launch the STP-S29A mission for the Pentagon’s Space Test Program.
That mission’s primary payload was the STPSat-7 satellite hosting Department of Defense experiments. One key instrument is the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s LARADO, designed to detect orbital debris using lasers.
SpaceX returns to the launch pad on Thursday night for another Starlink mission. The Falcon 9 is scheduled to lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East with a window opening at 7:39 p.m. PDT.
This flight will deploy another 25 Starlink V2 Mini Optimized satellites into low-Earth orbit. The booster, B1063, will be flying for its 32nd mission before attempting another drone ship landing.
The aggressive launch cadence reflects SpaceX‘s ongoing constellation buildout for its broadband internet service. Observers in Southern California or Arizona may see a visible streak from Thursday night’s launch.
