SpaceX has launched the Inmarsat I-6 F2 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit atop a Falcon 9. The vehicle lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at the opening of the 89-minute long launch window on Feb. 17 at 10:59 PM EST (03:59 UTC on Feb. 18). This launch marked 2023’s 24th orbital launch and SpaceX’s 12th of the year — an average launch cadence of 4.1 days per launch.
SLC-40 supported the Starlink Group 5-4 mission just 5.95 days before the planned liftoff time of this mission; this marked the third-fastest turnaround of the pad after 5.15 days between the Amazonas Nexus mission and Starlink Group 5-4 and 5.63 days between Hakuto-R Mission 1 and O3b mPOWER 1 & 2.