SpaceX launched two more batches of its Starlink internet satellites overnight (Jan. 28-29), on doubleheader liftoffs from both U.S. coasts.
Photos credit :SpaceX
A Falcon 9 rocket topped with 23 Starlink spacecraft launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Sunday (Jan. 28) at 6:15 p.m. EST (2315 GMT). This mission was in question just 40 seconds before the scheduled liftoff due to a high wind advisory at Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. After a 13-second fiery re-entry into Earth';s atmosphere, the reusable booster, named 1062B, landed on ;A Shortfall of Gravitas a drone ship deployed to recover the booster so it can be used again. It was the 18th mission for this particular booster.
At the other coast, another Falcon 9 carried 22 more Starlinks skyward from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday at 12:57 a.m. EST (9:57 p.m. local time, and 0557 GMT). Its first-stage booster was on its 9th flight and returned to Earth where it successfully landed upon the Of Course I Still Love You' droneship, which was awaiting for its re-entry in the Pacific Ocean.
Photos credit Paradox Adventure Photography for SpaceXFrontpage
It was the 18th launch and landing for the booster flying from KSC and was the ninth for the one launching from Vandenberg, according to SpaceX. The company's reuse record is 19 launches, set by a Falcon 9 just last month The Falcon 9 upper stages, meanwhile, continued climbing into low Earth orbit to deploy each batch of Starlink satellites a little over an hour after their liftoffs These were already the eighth and ninth launches of the year for SpaceX, which has said it's aiming for 144 orbital missions in 2024. It was the 74th launch of a Falcon rocket from
this pad (including nine Falcon Heavy rockets), according to SpaceX.
With these two spectacular launches, SpaceX added 45 Starlink Satellites to its growing constellation of more than 5,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit that provides high-speed, low- latency Internet almost all over the globe. Sunday's Starlink dual launch began on a somber anniversary. On Jan. 28, 1986, NASA's space shuttle Challenger broke apart less than two minutes after liftoff, killing all seven
astronauts on board.
In keeping with that ambitious plan, there's another SpaceX mission right around the corner: A Falcon 9 is scheduled to launch Northrop Grumman's robotic Cygnus cargo capsule (NG-20) towards the International Space Station on Tuesday, Jan 30.
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