Early on Friday morning (July 28), SpaceX successfully placed 22 of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit and then successfully landed the returning rocket at sea. It would appear that the space company was pretty active in its pursuit of new milestones! The launch of Starlink was supposed to take place on Thursday (July 27), but SpaceX delayed the attempt for a little while, probably to wait out the weather. Continue reading for more information.
The launch took place at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and used a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink satellite to orbit. The launch of Starlink was meant to be part of an unparalleled doubleheader that was going to take place on Thursday, July 27. SpaceX was hoping to lift off with its Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, which, as a matter of fact, it is located right next door to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
However, SpaceX decided not to launch the Heavy rocket on Thursday as planned, citing the requirement to “complete vehicle checkouts.”
About 8.5 minutes right after liftoff, the first stage of the Falcon 9 returned for a touchdown as planned. It landed on the SpaceX drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas. According to the description of the SpaceX mission, this specific rocket made its 15th ascent and returned throughout the course of the mission.
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During this time, the top stage of the Falcon 9 rocket continued to transfer 22 Starlink satellites into a low-Earth orbit. Approximately 65 minutes after liftoff, it will place them in that location. That’s one less than SpaceX’s recycling track, which is held by two distinct Falcon 9 initial stages at the moment. That record is just one short.
The launch of the Falcon Heavy project is currently scheduled to take place soon by the space company.