On 1 April, SpaceX launched the next batch — Starlink 7-18 — of its internet satellites.

The Falcon 9 carrying 22 Starlink satellites blasted off from Space Force Base Vandenberg in California. Two previous launch attempts were scrubbed due to bad weather.

This time the weather was favourable and the Falcon 9 blasted off at 10:30 a.m. EST.

The B1071 first stage landed on the autonomous ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ barge platform in the Pacific Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff.

According to SpaceX, this is the 15th flight and landing of this first stage.

The Falcon 9 second stage continued to deliver 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), where they were deployed approximately 62 minutes after launch.

This was the 32nd flight for Falcon 9 in 2024 and the 21st mission to deploy the Starlink mega-constellation. According to astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who monitors satellite activity, SpaceX has launched 6,100 Starlink vehicles to date, of which 5,633 are still operational.

These already staggering numbers will continue to grow. SpaceX has received one-time approval to launch 12,000 Starlink vehicles into LEO and has applied for approval to launch another 30,000.

Author: Mike Wall
https://www.space.com/spacex-starlink-launch-group-7-18