A Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 rocket blasted off from SLC-40 pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, at 0401 UTC Dec 19. It was carrying the carrying Starlink Group 6-34 of 23 v2 Mini satellites for the new second generation Starlink constellation.
Orbital expert Jonathan McDowell has pointed out on his Twitter/X feed that the objects/satellites on the launch will now take the international designation 2023-200 as part of their international numbers. This indicates the first time the count of successful orbital launches for a year has reached the 200 mark. There have, of course, been a further 10 orbital launch attempts ending in failures to achieve any kind of orbit.
The flight was launched on a Southerly trajectory and the reusable first stage B1081 on its third flight was landed on a drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas located down range in the Atlantic.
The Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 launch of Starlink Group 6-34 became the 200th launch to achieve orbit during 2023. Courtesy: SpaceX
