A SpaceX rocket simply set a brand new flight report
SpaceX has launched and landed a first-stage Falcon 9 booster for a report twenty first time.
The record-breaking mission received underway from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday evening and deployed 23 Starlink web satellites into orbit.
The first-stage booster supporting the mission beforehand launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, Nilesat 301, OneWeb Launch 17, ARABSAT BADR-8, and now 14 Starlink missions.
The achievement highlights SpaceX’s groundbreaking flight system that enables it to reuse its first-stage Falcon 9 booster by touchdown it again on the bottom — or typically on a barge floating off the coast — a couple of minutes after launch. Following a verify and refurbishment, the booster can fly once more, serving to SpaceX to chop its spaceflight prices.
The record-breaking booster, B1062, took its first flight in November 2020 and will nonetheless have many extra flights forward of it.
SpaceX shared a video of the booster climbing skyward after launching from Kennedy a few days in the past:
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/caAsrsKUyH
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 18, 2024
Just over eight minutes after launch, the booster touched down on a barge ready within the Atlantic Ocean near the Florida coast:
Falcon 9 completes its first twenty first launch and touchdown! pic.twitter.com/m77JbAdNKJ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) May 18, 2024
SpaceX chief Elon Musk additionally shared a dramatic picture exhibiting the Falcon 9 rocket heading to orbit, as seen from the ocean:
Falcon going to orbit as seen from ocean pic.twitter.com/Dclhju24ya
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 18, 2024
Two different first-stage Falcon 9 boosters lately reached 20 flights, suggesting the record-breaking B1062 booster might quickly be overtaken, relying on refurbishment occasions and flight schedules.
SpaceX has already accomplished 51 Falcon 9 missions this yr. This time final yr the quantity stood at 32 — on the time a report — suggesting that it’s very a lot on target to fly extra missions than ever in a single calendar yr, all due to its workhorse Falcon 9 booster.
