SpaceX Prepares for Landmark 400th Falcon 9 Launch

SpaceX is preparing for a landmark launch as it counts down to its 400th Falcon 9 rocket mission. The Starlink 9-13 mission, set to take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, marks SpaceX’s 100th West Coast launch. The event is scheduled within a four-hour window starting at 7:26 p.m. PST (10:26 p.m. EST, 0326 UTC). Although SpaceX has not specified an exact launch time, CelesTrak indicates that the first launch opportunity is at 9:25:30 p.m. PST (12:25:30 a.m. EST, 0525:30 UTC).

This mission is notable as it appears SpaceX will not provide a live stream of the launch or the booster landing, a departure from recent practices. SpaceX has not made announcements on its X profile, formerly known as Twitter, nor has it updated its website with the planned launch time as of 12:05 p.m. EST (0505 UTC).

The Starlink 9-13 mission will carry 20 V2 Mini satellites, 13 of which are equipped with Direct to Cell capabilities. The Falcon 9 first stage booster for this mission, identified as B1075 in SpaceX’s fleet, will be launched for the 15th time, having previously supported several notable missions, including Transporter-11, SDA-0A, SARah-2, and 11 Starlink satellites.

Upon successful launch, approximately eight minutes post-liftoff, booster B1075 is expected to land on the SpaceX droneship ‘Of Course I Still Love You.’ If successful, this will represent the 110th landing on this droneship and the 373rd booster landing in SpaceX’s history.

In related news, two astronauts conducted a spacewalk early Friday outside the International Space Station. This endeavor is the first of four planned spacewalks aimed at completing a complex multi-year project to upgrade the station’s solar power system by replacing 48 aging batteries with 24 more efficient lithium-ion units.

Separately, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Monday, delivering nearly three tons of hardware and supplies to the International Space Station. Furthermore, SpaceX successfully placed an Argentine radar observation satellite into orbit on Sunday, which was the company’s 100th launch, following a southerly trajectory to evade stormy weather.