On Tuesday night, SpaceX successfully launched another batch of Space Starlink satellites from the company’s Internet into orbit, using a hard-to-find hard-hitting Falcon 9 rocket for the job. The launch marks the rocket’s seventh flight in space and rear – SpaceX is the first time such a P-season vehicle has flown into orbit.
The Falcon 9 took off at 9:13 a.m. from SpaceX’s launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, with 60 Starlink satellites attached. After a rapid journey into space, the first phase of the Falcon 9 – a large part of the vehicle with the main engines and most of the fuel – is separated from the rest of the rocket and returned to Earth. He then demonstrated a SpaceX signature rocket landing in the Atlantic, touching one of the company’s drones.
Prior to the flight, the Falcon 9 launched two communications satellites to orbit on two different missions, and the SpaceX used the vehicle to launch four different Starlinks. It wasn’t the only rocket that flew before. The Nakkon of rockets orbiting satellites while ascending into space was also used for previous flights. Half of Knoxcon – or payload ferring – flowed once, while the other half flew twice before the launch.
So far, SpaceX has made this launch and landing routine outside of Florida fairly regular, adding numbers to the company’s resume with each new mission. Last night’s launch was known as SpaceX’s 100th Falcon 9 launch so far. It also marks the company’s 23rd launch this year and has received one of its Falcon 9 boosters since SpaceX launched for the 67th time.
This number is only expected to grow, with more projections coming this year. And with the rocket successfully landing yesterday, the eighth flight will probably be in the future.
