SpaceX Launches Starlink 4-12 with 53 more Starlink Satellites

Starlink 4-12 Launches | Credit: SpaceX

On Friday, March 18 at 12:42pm EDT (4:42 UTC), SpaceX will launch the Starlink Group 4 Launch 12 mission atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Starlink is SpaceX's high-speed low-latency satellite internet designed to provide internet service, particularly to people in remote areas. Starlink has three versions: Starlink v1, Starlink v1.5 which has laser terminals, and Starlink v2 which will launch on Starship. Starlink also has 8 shells or groups (1 v1, 4 v1.5, and 3 v2) which must be all complete by 2027. The first stage for this mission (B1051), which previously flew Crew Dragon Demo-1, RADARSAT Constellation, SXM-7, and 8 Starlink missions, landed on the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the first time a Falcon 9 booster flies for the 12th time. This will be the 146th Falcon 9 launch, 154th SpaceX mission, and the 30th orbital launch attempt of 2022.