A SpaceX Falcon 9 propeller is on track to break an orbital-class rocket reuse record set by a NASA space shuttle orbiter in 1985, and in more ways than one.
On July 11, SpaceX announced that Falcon 9’s B1058 booster had successfully completed a static ignition test a few days before its second release. Built by Airbus, South Korea’s ANASIS II military communications satellite is based on a bus which means it must weigh between 4,600 and 6,400 kg (~ 10,000-14,000 lb). Even in a recoverable configuration, Falcon 9 should be more than capable of launching that satellite into a healthy geostationary transfer (GTO) orbit, where ANASIS II will use its own integrated propulsion systems to reach a circular geostationary orbit (GEO) and begin operations.
While ANASIS II is undeniably significant in its own right as South Korea’s first dedicated military communications satellite, much of the mission’s public focus has shifted to the Falcon 9 rocket that SpaceX plans to reuse on it.
In October 1985, space shuttle Atlantis took off from Pad 39A on its inaugural orbital launch, spending four days in space before returning to Earth at Edwards Air Force Base. Just 54 days later, the same space shuttle orbiter took off from Pad 39A again, setting a record for orbital-class launch vehicle change that is still held today. It would be the penultimate launch and landing of the space shuttle before the fatal Challenger disaster less than two months later.
Almost 35 years later, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is on the cusp of crushing the space shuttle Atlantis record change for up to nine days (20%) if the B1058 booster launches as planned between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. EDT ( 21: 00-01: 00 UTC) on July 14. SpaceX has had that NASA record within roughly two years’ reach, so the fact that Falcon 9 is about to snag isn’t a big surprise.
By far the most impressive aspect of the impending Falcon 9 record is the comparison between the resources behind the 54-day change of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and the ~ 44-day change of the Falcon 9 Booster B1058. By the time NASA and Atlantis set the Shuttle’s long-standing record, some 5,000-10000 full-time employees were tasked with restoring the space shuttles and the facilities (and launch pads) that backed them. Based on retrospective analyzes conducted after the end of the STS program in 2011, the average launch of the space shuttle (representing the vast infrastructure behind the scenes) ultimately ended up costing more than $ 1.5 billion per launch, more than the Saturn V rocket than the shuttle theoretically replaced.
According to a detailed AviationWeek interview from May 2020 with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the Falcon 9 boost change can cost as little as $ 1 million each and can be managed from start to finish by several dozen maximum employees. In other words, even though SpaceX amps are suborbital and slightly less stressed than orbital space shuttles, the reuse of Falcon 9 is roughly a thousand times more efficient than reusing the space shuttle.
Ironically, ANASIS II likely ended up launching in Falcon 9 because Lockheed Martin was unable to build the satellite at the price it promised South Korea. Lockheed Martin originally designed and operated the Atlas V rocket before joining Boeing to form the United Launch Alliance (ULA). ANASIS II exists because Lockheed Martin essentially had to sweeten the deal for a 2014 South Korean purchase of 40 additional F-35 Lightning II aircraft valued at ~ ~ $ 7 billion.
Regardless, the mission should see South Korea win its first dedicated military communications satellite and set up the Falcon 9 Bocon B1058 for a long and productive run of 5-10 more launches in the coming years.
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