SpaceX launched one among its Falcon 9 rockets for a document-tying 13th time on Sunday morning (July 17), and nailed the touchdown too.
A Falcon 9 carrying 53 of SpaceX’s Starlink web satellites lifted off at 10: 20 a.m. EDT (1420 GMT) on Sunday from Cape Canaveral Jam Power Build of abode in Florida.
It used to be the 13th originate for this Falcon 9’s first stage, tying a rocket reuse document that SpaceX space closing month and matched factual 10 days ago. The booster also helped loft SpaceX’s Demo-2 crewed test flight to the Worldwide Jam Build of abode, the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, the SXM-7 communications satellite and nine Starlink missions, SpaceX representatives mentioned in a mission description (opens in contemporary tab).
Linked: SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation launches in photos
And this booster will doubtlessly fly but again: A tiny now now not up to nine minutes after liftoff, it came down for a vertical touchdown on the SpaceX droneship Factual Read the Instructions, which used to be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida cruise.
The 53 Starlink satellites deployed from the Falcon 9’s upper stage about seven minutes later, at 15.5 minutes after liftoff, in response to a tweet (opens in contemporary tab) from the firm.
The fairing halves that safe the satellites on their traipse to orbit made their third flight on the present time, marking the 50th SpaceX mission to utilize reflown fairing halves, in response to the firm’s mission broadcast. The fairings had been also destined to be fished out of the water for utilize on a future mission.
Sunday’s flight continues a extremely busy 2022 for SpaceX. On the present time’s flight used to be the 31st Falcon 9 mission this year, already tying the firm’s 2021 originate tally.
Starlink is SpaceX’s big constellation of broadband satellites. The firm has launched bigger than 2,800 Starlink spacecraft to low Earth orbit to this level, and quite a lot of extra will likely stride up in the now now not-too-a ways-off future: SpaceX has permission to loft 12,000 Starlink satellites, and it has utilized for approval to originate 30,000 additional spacecraft on top of that.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out There (opens in contemporary tab)” (Colossal Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a guide relating to the gaze for alien existence. Note him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in contemporary tab). Note us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in contemporary tab) or on Fb (opens in contemporary tab).