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Falcon 9 jumps out of SLC-40 on Tuesday with the third GPS-III satellite for the United States Space Force / Air Force.
Trevor Mahlmann
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This is the first time that the United States Space Force logo adorns the SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairing.
Trevor Mahlmann
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The gray stripe at the bottom of the second stage is to keep RP-1 fuel warm enough during longer periods of coast.
Trevor Mahlmann
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Falcon 9 B1060.1 stopped vertically on LC-40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station prior to the launch of GPS-III SV03 for the United States Air Force.
Trevor Mahlmann
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A close-up of the number “60” on top of the first stage of Falcon 9.
Trevor Mahlmann
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Number 60 also graces the bottom of the first leg, but this is much more difficult to see on subsequent flights due to the build-up of soot.
Trevor Mahlmann
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This new booster, 1060, will add to the fleet of used rockets that SpaceX has available.
Trevor Mahlmann
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The clouds make a good launch.
Trevor Mahlmann
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The performance of the Falcon 9 rocket was nominal.
Trevor Mahlmann
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How many more pitches will this first stage make?
Trevor Mahlmann
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SpaceX has launched the Falcon 9 rocket 88 times.
Trevor Mahlmann
On Tuesday, SpaceX launched its 11th Falcon 9 rocket of the year, with a completely new first stage delivering a 3.7-ton GPS III satellite in orbit to improve navigation services. The mission’s client, the United States Space Force, was happy.
“The successful launch and recovery of GPS III SV03 serves as another step in our journey with industry partners to create innovative, flexible, and affordable services to meet the objectives of the NSSL mission and drive dominance of the US. In space, “said Col. Robert Bongiovi, Enterprise’s launch director.
Tuesday afternoon’s launch puts the company on the road for 22 missions in this calendar year, which would break the company’s previous record of 21 launches established in 2018. What seems most notable about this pace is that it occurred in Amidst a global pandemic that has slowed operations in many other countries.
For example, SpaceX’s 11 launches match the total so far this year across Russia, Europe, and Japan combined. Globally, the company ranks second after China’s state-owned company, which has attempted 15 orbital launches in 2020, two of which have been unsuccessful.
Much of the company’s activity during the pandemic has been driven by its own payloads. SpaceX has launched seven Starlink missions during the first half of this year, putting nearly 420 of its own satellites into low Earth orbit. The company is making progress in its efforts to start offering a limited commercial Internet service later this year or early 2021.
Except for a catastrophe, it seems likely that SpaceX will easily launch a dozen or more Falcon 9 rockets between now and the end of this year. The company has up to 18 launches in its manifesto, including half a dozen Starlink missions, a second Crew Dragon mission, a supply mission to the International Space Station, and various trade missions. Its next launch may take place in a week, with the Starlink-9 mission on July 8.
Thanks to the successful recovery of the first stage since Tuesday’s launch, SpaceX now has five first-stage boosters at its disposal for future missions. Of them, it will be more interesting to see if or when Booster 1049 flies again. This first stage has already flown five flights since September 2018 and could be ready for its sixth mission in late July, if engineers consider it safe to fly again.
Listing image by Trevor Mahlmann
