SpaceX launched one other plentiful batch of its Starlink files superhighway satellites to orbit and landed a rocket on a ship at sea on Tuesday (Aug. 9).
A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket topped with 52 Starlink spacecraft lifted off from NASA’s Kennedy Enviornment Center in Florida Tuesday at 10: 14 p.m. EDT (0214 GMT on Aug. 10).
A puny of lower than nine minutes after launch, the Falcon 9’s first stage came abet to Earth for a vertical landing on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed within the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida flow.
The Falcon 9 upper stage, within the intervening time, continued powering its manner to low Earth orbit, finally deploying the Starlink satellites as deliberate about 15 minutes after liftoff, SpaceX confirmed by ability of Twitter (opens in new tab).
Related: SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation launches in photos
Starlink is SpaceX’s files superhighway megaconstellation, which beams broadband service to a entire lot of hundreds of of us around the sector. Elon Musk’s company has now launched extra than 3,000 Starlink satellites (opens in new tab) to orbit, but many extra will likely dart up; SpaceX has permission to loft 12,000 of the craft and has utilized for approval to launch 30,000 extra on top of that.
Tonight’s launch was the company’s 21st Starlink mission of 2022 and its 35th orbital flight of the year total, adding to a SpaceX picture. The company’s previous tag for most orbital missions in a year was 31, plot in 2021.
Rocket reuse is a plentiful precedence for SpaceX, which views it as a breakthrough that could support create Mars colonization likely.
The Falcon 9 first stage that flew on Tuesday already had two spaceflights beneath its belt, fixed with a SpaceX mission description (opens in new tab). That is impressive, but it absolutely’s a ways from the SpaceX picture; three moderately about a Falcon 9 boosters beget launched 13 orbital missions to this level.
The Starlink launch was section of a in point of fact packed with life day for SpaceX. Also this day, the company conducted “static fire” engine tests at its South Texas facility with Booster 7 and Ship 24, prototypes of its Starship deep-situation transportation system.
SpaceX is making ready Booster 7 and Ship 24 for the Starship program’s first-ever orbital check flight, which the company objectives to launch within the upcoming months.
Editor’s mark: This memoir was updated at 4: 20 p.m. EDT on Aug. 9 to incorporate the webcast files and to simply the expected time of satellite deployment (to roughly 15 minutes after liftoff, in wish to an hour). It was updated all over again at 10: 43 p.m. EDT with files of the winning launch and landing and the Booster 7 and Ship 24 static fire tests.
Mike Wall is the author of “Out There (opens in new tab)” (Sizable Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the glance for alien existence. Apply him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in new tab). Apply us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or on Fb (opens in new tab).