CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, FL – The second blastoff in SpaceX’s burgeoning Starlink constellation with 60 Starlink broadband satellites put on a stunning sky show Monday morning, Nov. 11 on Veterans Day – with the next generation payload bolted atop the first ever quadruply launched Falcon 9 first stage booster and first ever re-flown payload fairings encapsulating the payload stack thundering to space from Florida’s Space Coast.
The Starlink mission thus amasses a series of truly significant milestones in spaceflight history.
Liftoff of the Starlink mission took place at 9:56 a.m. EST (1456 GMT) during an instantaneous launch window Monday, Nov 11 from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL.
Eight minutes later the Falcon 9 first stage successfully made a precision rocket assisted intact and upright touchdown on the ‘Of Course I Still Love You’ (OCISLY) droneship prepositioned in the Atlantic Coast off the Carolinas.
This Starlink mission counts as the heaviest ever payload lofted by a Falcon 9.
Enjoy our second and much enlarged Space UpClose eyewitness gallery of photo and video imagery from the launch and prelaunch activities.
Video Caption: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying second set of 60 SpaceX built Starlink high speed broadband satellites lifts off at 9:56 a.m. ET on Nov 11, 2019 from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL on Starlink mission – as seen in this video camera stationed at pad. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com/spaceupclose.com
Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
………….
Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events
Ken’s upcoming outreach events:
Nov 23, 1 PM, Titusville, FL: “50th Anniversary Apollo 12 and NASA’s Human Return to the Moon with Project Artemis” at American Space Museum, Titusville, FL. Lecture free. Open to the public.
Website: www.spacewalkoffame.org
www.spacewalkoffame.org/event/cosmic-christmas-yard-sale-and-apollo12-50th
Dec 3/4: 7 PM, Quality Inn Kennedy Space Center, Titusville, FL. “SpaceX CRS-19 Launch to ISS Dec 4.” Free. In hotel lobby
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news. Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics. Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events.
For SpaceUpClose & RocketSTEM TITUSVILLE, FL – Watch my complete live LiveNOW from FOX video interview with host Austin Westfall about NASA’s decision on Saturday Aug. 24 to bring NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore & Suni Williams home from ISS on a SpaceX Crew Dragon in Feb 2025 for safety reasons – instead of the Boeing Starliner they originally launched on
For SpaceUpClose & RocketSTEM KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – Watch my complete live LiveNOW from FOX video interview with host Andy Mac about the Boeing Starliner CFT crew test flight mission on 26 June 2024. Note: The title from Fox is incorrect as I immediately told them from the start the astronauts are NOT stuck – with my first words!