SpaceX is gearing up for a busy week to end January on a high note. Two Starlink deployment missions will kick off as the company prepares to launch Northrop Grumman's Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station for the first time.

On January 28, 2024, as the sun set, a Falcon 9 rocket was ready to support the launch of the Starlink 6-38 mission.

First up is the Starlink 6-38 mission, which will put another 23 satellites into low Earth orbit. The Falcon 9 rocket supporting the mission will lift off on Sunday, January 28, at 8:10 pm ET (01:10 UTC).

SpaceX will use Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to launch the mission. This will be the 74th Falcon rocket launch from the launch pad (including 9 Falcon Heavy rockets) and the 167th launch.

The first-stage booster supporting this mission has the tail number B1062 and will make its 18th flight. The last flight was at the end of November. To date, it has supported two crewed launches, a pair of GPS satellites and 10 Starlink launches.

About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1062 will land on the unmanned spacecraft "AShortfall of Gravitas". This will be the 58th booster landing on the spacecraft and the 267th landing of a Falcon 9 first-stage booster.

Assuming a successful launch on Sunday, these are the latest statistics:

  • B1062 18th launch and landing

  • SpaceX launches 74th time from LC-39A

  • 167th orbital launch from LC-39A

  • The 293rd Falcon 9 launch

  • Login to ASOG for the 58th time

  • The 267th Falcon 9 booster landing

  • 6th orbital launch from Florida in 2024

  • SpaceX’s 8th launch in 2024

  • 19th orbital launch in 2024

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    If the "Starlink 6-38" mission is successfully launched on Sunday night, less than four hours later, another Falcon 9 will follow in a "back-to-back launch": Starlink 7-12 will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base.

    The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 6:16 PM PST (9:16 PM EST, 2:16 UTC). It will add 22 "Starlink" members to the low-Earth orbit constellation.

    While both missions are underway, SpaceX, NASA and Northrop Grumman are making final preparations for the launch of NG-20, the latest cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.

    For the first time, the Cygnus spacecraft is encapsulated in the Falcon 9 payload fairing. Image: SpaceX

    This will be the first time SpaceX launches a Cygnus spacecraft. This is the first of three planned launches as Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace continue to develop the joint rocket, known as the Antares 330.

    The cargo flight will launch from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida.

    While all this is going on, SpaceX continues to support private astronauts on the Ax-3 mission, which is halfway through its two-week flight aboard the International Space Station. Four astronauts, led by Michael López-Alegría, will return to Earth aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft next weekend, weather permitting.