SpaceX launches Florida's 71st rocket of the year with Friday Starlink satellite mission

Defying threats from a windy weather forecast , SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink satellites — including 13 with direct-to-cell communications capabilities — into low-Earth orbit Friday night from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Liftoff occurred at 7:31 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 40. The Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron had only forecast 40% odds of favorable weather during the launch window, citing liftoff winds and a low-to-moderate chance of poor booster recovery weather out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Of note: Friday's Starlink 8-19 mission was the 71st orbital rocket launch this year from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's neighboring Kennedy Space Center. That's just one shy of the annual record of 72, which was established just last year.

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The next SpaceX launch may tie that annual record Monday night, a Federal Aviation Administration operations plan advisory shows. That's when the Starlink 6-61 mission launch window opens from 6:40-11:11 p.m., also from LC-40.

Friday's liftoff marked the Falcon 9 first-stage booster’s 17th flight, SpaceX reported. This well-traveled booster previously launched mPOWER-C, OneWeb 2, Intelsat 40e, Digital Globe 2, Turksat-6A, Eutelsat 36X, Ovzon-3, CRS-26 and eight Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the booster landed on the SpaceX drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean roughly 8 minutes, 20 seconds after liftoff.

For the latest news and launch schedule from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space .

Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com . Twitter/X: @RickNeale1

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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX launches Florida's 71st rocket of the year with Friday Starlink satellite mission