A Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 was launched from the Vandenberg Space Force base in California at 1615 GMT on 31 January. Aboard was a batch of 49 Starlink satellites (Group 2-6) for the SpaceX Starlink constellation. ION-SCV 9 (SCV 0009) — InOrbit NOW Satellite Carrier Vehicle 9, dubbed Eclectic Elena — will test a new low shock satellite separation system by Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company (EBAD) with an instrumented EBAD mass simulator.
The second stage made a burn 53 minutes after launch to reach a slightly higher than normal deployment orbit needed by ION-SCV 9. The initial deployment orbit was 339 x 327 km at a 70 degree inclination. The Starlink satellites will raise their orbit over the next few weeks about 160 km to their operational altitude.
The reusable first stage B1071, on its seventh flight, successfully landed 8 minutes 45 seconds after launch on the drone barge “Of Course I Still Love You” down range in the Pacific.
Starlink Group 2-6 is launched with ION-SCV 9. Courtesy: SpaceX
