24.07.2022
Updates: Watch SpaceX Falcon 9 Starlink mission liftoff from Kennedy Space Center in Florida
Liftoff! SpaceX clutches second Starlink mission in three days
One week after its record-tying 31st launch of the year, SpaceX lifted another batch of 53 internet-beaming Starlink satellites to orbit from Kennedy Space Center on Sunday.
The Sunday morning Falcon 9 liftoff followed the company's Friday flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It marked the company's 33rd mission in just seven months from its launch locations in Florida and California. Its previous record was 31 missions completed in 2021.
Liftoff occurred at 9:38 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A at Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
After successfully launching on its eighth mission, the Falcon 9 first stage booster flipped around and landed on one of the company's drone ships stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. It is expected to be returned to Port Canaveral in a few days time for refurbishment and reflight on a future mission.
The uptick in rocket launches this year is due to the company's effort to populate its massive in-orbit network of Starlink internet satellites which has reached close to 3,000 after Sunday's 53rd Starlink mission.
Although nearly 3,000 satellites have launched to orbit, some have become inactive over time and been destroyed as they crashed back through the Earth's atmosphere after decommissioning.
The satellites provide internet service to a swath of North America, Europe, and Australia. In addition, SpaceX recently began offering an option for satellite internet dishes and services for RV vehicles and boats available across the country. A basic residential service plan will set customers back $110 a month.
Sunday's launch was the 32nd to fly from the Space Coast.
If this pace of launches continues throughout the remainder of the year, the Eastern Range is set up to crush its unofficial goal of supporting 50 launches by year's end.
The Space Coast's next launch is anticipated to be another SpaceX Falcon 9 mission to support the Korean Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter.
That mission is slated for no earlier than Tuesday, August 2 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. A weather outlook and launch window should be available after Friday.
Quelle: Florida Today
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On Sunday, July 24 at 9:38 a.m. ET, SpaceX launched 53 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
This was the eighth flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, and now three Starlink missions.
SpaceX
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Quelle: SpaceX