Starlink 8-6 (Falcon 9) August 28, 2024

Created 29-Aug-24

Modified 1-Sep-24

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26 photos

On Wednesday, August 28 at 3:48 a.m. ET, Falcon 9 launched 21 Starlink satellites, including 13 with Direct to Cell capabilities, to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

This was the 23rd flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8, and now 16 Starlink missions.

Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster landed on SpaceX’s drone ship A Shortfall Of Gravitas positioned in the Atlantic Ocean but had an issue when touching down. More info in link below.

Full story here:

Beginning with photo #17:

SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas returns to Port Canaveral on 30 August 2024 with what's left of the Starlink 8-6 booster.

from spaceflightnow.com:

"For the first time in more than three years, SpaceX lost one of its reusable Falcon 9 boosters during a landing attempt amid the Starlink 8-6 mission on Wednesday morning. As it was touching down on the droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas,’ a green flash could be seen around the Merlin engines before the engine section was engulfed in flames and the booster toppled over and exploded."