SpaceX Sets Thursday Starlink Launch as Cape Cadence Peaks and LZ-2 Era Ends

Overview

• SpaceX plans to launch the Starlink 6-90 mission from Cape Canaveral’s SLC-40 on Thursday with a window opening at 3:26 p.m. EST, carrying 29 Starlink V2 Mini satellites.
• The flight is set to use Falcon 9 booster B1083 on its 16th mission, with a downrange droneship recovery targeted.
• Two days earlier, the NROL-77 mission lifted off from SLC-40 and the booster landed at Landing Zone 2, which reports indicate was likely the final use before the LZ-2 lease ends on Dec. 31.
• SpaceX is building a landing zone at SLC-40 to enable launch-and-land operations from the same site, aligning with Air Force preferences for Canaveral recoveries.
• The Space Coast is poised for five orbital launches in eight days, and 2025 tallies show 105 launches so far with SpaceX responsible for all but seven, including roughly 3,000 Starlink satellites launched this year and more than 10,000 since 2019.