SpaceX’s upcoming Starlink satellite launch nears astronaut Crew Dragon’s debut

SpaceX’s upcoming launch of the Starlink satellite has slipped about a week and a half in mid-May, placing it just nine days (or less) before the company’s inaugural NASA astronaut mission.

Known as Crew Dragon’s second demo mission (Demo-2), SpaceX’s first astronaut launch is officially scheduled no earlier than May 27 and is arguably the most important mission in the company’s history. Simultaneously, however, SpaceX is working to rapidly launch thousands of Starlink satellites in an attempt to offer high-quality Internet service to tens, or even hundreds, of millions of people. The company has already launched an incredibly 420 Starlink operational satellites, but that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to ~ 4400, ~ 12,000, or even ~ 40,000 +, the company will finally have to fulfill its ambitions.

In that regard, the launch of eight SpaceX StarX links (the seventh satellite flight v1.0) is now scheduled to take off no earlier than (NET) 3:09 am EDT (07:09 UTC) on March 18 – an 11-day delay from a previous target of May 7. The cause of that delay is unclear and will likely continue to be, but it means that 60 new Starlink satellites could be launched into orbit just nine days before Crew Dragon attempts to transport astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for the first time.

The fact that SpaceX is still looking for a Starlink launch just over a week before the most important mission in the company’s history is not exactly surprising given that it has made several launches just a few days apart over the years. years. Still, given the priority Demo-2 should have for both SpaceX and NASA, the closeness of Starlink-7 largely implies that SpaceX has a more or less separate team capable of independently launching a Starlink.

SpaceX certainly has two Florida orbital launch pads at Kennedy Space Center (Pad 39A) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS; LC-40). At least for now, SpaceX only has a drone ship, needed to retrieve reinforcements after Starlink-7 and Demo-2, but that could change in the near future. Now, with the Starlink-7 launch date of March 18 firm, it’s also safe to say that SpaceX has a workforce large enough to almost simultaneously support a major NASA astronaut mission and a satellite launch without crew.

Beyond its adjacency to the Crew Dragon astronaut launch debut, Starlink-7 is also expected to present a significant milestone in hardware, (hopefully) marking the second time that a Falcon 9 booster successfully completes five launches and orbital class landings. Next Spaceflight recently confirmed that Falcon 9’s B1049 booster has been assigned to support Starlink-7 approximately four and a half months after completing its last (fourth) launch, Starlink-2.

Lost during its fifth launch after suffering an in-flight engine failure caused by an incorrect overhaul procedure, the Falcon 9 Booster B1048 is currently the first and only SpaceX rocket to successfully complete five orbital-class launches. After the loss of B1048, B1049 became SpaceX’s new “life leader” for reuse of Falcon. That refers to the fact that, if successfully recovered, the condition of B1049 will help inform all future recovery and restoration efforts, while ensuring that the reinforcement is the first to attempt the entire future. northreuse milestones.

If B1049 survives Starlink-7 and safely returns to earth, that future (at least partially) will be assured. For now, we will have to wait a little less than two weeks to find out if this is the case.