SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket of the month and its first Starlink flight since reaching 5 million subscribers on Sunday night. The Liftoff of the Starlink 12-20 mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 9:24 p.m. EST.
The mission used the Falcon 9 first stage booster, tail number B1086, which has flown for a fifth time before. This marked the 112th booster landing on the ‘Just Read the Instructions’ droneship and the 415th booster landing overall.
Among the 21 Starlink satellites launched, 13 feature Direct to Cell capabilities, with over 500 of these DTC capable satellites now in orbit. SpaceX published a short video marking the 5 million subscriber milestone, although the original video’s image was removed.
Meanwhile, a launch issue at Vandenberg Space Force Base has delayed NASA’s SPHEREx and PUNCH mission. Originally scheduled for February 27, the mission is now set to launch no earlier than March 4 due to unspecified issues with the rocket hardware.
Source: https://spaceflightnow.com/2025/03/01/live-coverage-spacex-to-launch-21-starlink-satellites-on-falcon-9-rocket-from-cape-canaveral-14