As it waits for the regulatory go ahead for an orbital test flight of the massive Starship rocket, SpaceX is busy setting new records with the operation Falcon 9 lineup. The rocket's latest launch, a batch of 22 upgraded Starlink satellites, took place from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida yesterday, making it the second in the world that has flown and landed back 17 times. SpaceX now live streams its launches on X, and the event itself was a typical Falcon 9 launch that saw the rocket launch, deliver the payload and then land back on Earth in less than half an hour.
SpaceX's Falcon 9 Remains The Only Rocket In The World Capable Of Rapid Reusability
The latest launch came just hours later after SpaceX shared more details about its Starlink satellite internet service. Within a handful of years after being made available to the public, Starlink is one of the largest internet services of its kind and also one of the fastest. It relies on the proximity of low Earth orbit (LEO) to the Earth's surface to cut down on the time that it takes for internet signals to travel from user dishes to the satellites, which significantly improves performance when compared to other satellite networks which rely on much higher geostationary or other satellites.
At the same time, SpaceX's Falcon 9 also provides it with the ability to rapidly launch satellites and build out the constellation as the firm does not have to wait to schedule its rocekts based on launch vehicle availability. The Falcon 9 has proven to be the backbone of both SpaceX's income statement and the Starlink program, and as SpaceX waits to make Starship operational, the rocket continues to provide the firm with the important cash flow to fund operations.
The booster responsible for the latest launch successfully completed 17 missions after it landed on SpaceX's drone ship, making it the second rocket of its kind in the world. SpaceX had broken its own record of the most rocket launches by a rocket booster earlier, and after the latest launch, the firm has flown and landed two rocket boosters 17 times each. The latest Falcon 9 to have achieved this milestone has flown most of its missions for the Starlink program. Its non Starlink launches include two satellite ridesharing missions, a GPS satellite launch and two missions for private satellite firms.
SpaceX's Starlink now serves more than two million customers in more than sixty countries, according to the latest details. This massive growth in the number of users has also constrained the network, with multiple users seeing their download speeds drop as the existing satellites are used to serve more users. SpaceX plans to launch thousands of more satellites under its second generation Starlink authorization, along with introducing newer dishes to users.
However, the firm's ability to launch the second generation spacecraft is constrained by the backbone of the Starlink program, i.e., the Falcon 9 rocket. Since the newer satellites are larger, the Falcon 9 can only launch so many. To make up for this shortfall, SpaceX plans to use Starship to launch the spacecraft.
This places another burden on the Starship program, which is also essential for NASA to meet its deadlines for the Artemis program. While SpaceX has run multiple ground tests on its latest Starship test article, the firm is waiting on approval from regulatory agencies to launch and test the rocket once again after an April test was a partial success.
WccftechContinue reading/original-link]
