SpaceX Launches Starlink 6-59 – Talk of Titusville

Starlink 6-59 after staging. From L-R: Booster B1062, the two fairings used to shield the payload and the second stage. Photo: Charles Boyer / ToT

In perhaps the most vivid launch for spectators so far in 2024, SpaceX launched another twenty-three Starlink Mini V2 satellites to orbit after successfully launching the Starlink 6-59 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station this evening.

Liftoff was at 08:32 PM EDT. Around 8.3 minutes after liftoff, the first-stage booster used for the mission, tail number B1062, touched down safely on ASDS A Shortfall of Gravitas, stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. After landing, B1062 has now flown to space for a record-setting twenty-one times.

Tonights launch came one minute after the official end of civil twilight, meaning that when Falcon 9 gained enough altitude, it left Earths shadow and was brightly lit by the sun while it was nearly dark on the ground.

This effect is often referred to as a jellyfish, and for launch spectators, it is a spectacular yet rare sight to see. This was probably the best jellyfish effect Ive seen since Inspiration4, said accomplished launch photographer and Polaris Program Content Director John Kraus on X.com this evening. Kraus is not one to exaggerate, and in any case, he was exactly right: this was a spectacular launch that wowed everyone who saw it in person.

There is a period of time when the sun has just set where conditions are perfect to illuminate a rocket high in Earths atmosphere as it ascends while it is nearly dark down on the ground where people are watching.

Conditions have to be perfect for this to happen: skies need to be relatively clear between you and the rocket, the Sun cant be blocked by clouds between it and the rocket and it has to happen at just the right time of day. All that came together tonight here on the Space Coast, giving spectators a spectacular jellyfish that was the best in about two years. Rare indeed.

If youve ever been outside in the gloaming and seen a plane fly overheard still brightly lit by the Sun, youve seen the same thing. Some nights, the plane is leacing a contrail and it too is brightly lit. The sun is still above the the horizon from the planes perspective, but down below it has already set.

If that happens during a rocket launch, you get to see the rocket brightly lit as it climbs, and you also get to see a gaseous plume from the rockets engines brightly illuminated. The higher a rocket is, the lower the pressure of the atmosphere, so the exhaust plume expands to enormous proportions that can appear larger than your extended hand (or even two!) as you look up.

Booster 1062 completed its twenty-first mission today after it landed on A Shortfall of Gravitas. The drone-ship and booster stage will return to Port Canaveral after several days, where it will be offloaded, transported to Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center and refurbished for its next flight.

Next Thursday, SpaceX plans to launch another set of satellites for Starlink Group 6. This will essentially repeat tonights mission, and Falcon 9 will travel on a well-flown path to the southeast as it delivers more members of its low-Earth orbit constellation that provides Internet access to underserved markets.

Keep in mind that launch dates and times change often. Launch attempts can be scrubbed anytime due to weather, technical reasons, or range conditions.

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SpaceX Launches Starlink 6-59 - Talk of Titusville