![]() The program's objective was to reliably execute controlled re-entry, descent and landing ( EDL) of the Falcon 9 first stage into Earth's atmosphere after the stage completes the boost phase of an orbital spaceflight. Since 2017, the first stage of Falcon 9 missions has been routinely landed if the rocket performance allowed it, and if SpaceX chose to recover the stage. The Falcon 9 first-stage landing tests were a series of controlled-descent flight tests conducted by SpaceX between 20. The first stage of Falcon 9 flight 20 successfully landed for the first time on a ground pad at Landing Zone 1, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, after propelling 11 Orbcomm OG2 satellites to orbit. TARGET ORBIT: 189 miles by 197 miles (305 kilometers by 318 kilometers), 53.Proofs of the SpaceX booster's reusability WEATHER FORECAST: 80% chance of acceptable weather Low risk of upper level winds Low risk of unfavorable conditions for booster recoveryīOOSTER RECOVERY: “Just Read the Instructions” drone ship east of Charleston, South Carolina LAUNCH SITE: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida PAYLOAD: 53 Starlink satelllites (Starlink 4-15) Read our mission preview story for more details. More than 2,200 of those satellites are in orbit and functioning as of this week, according to a list maintained by Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist who closely tracks spaceflight activity. Credit: Spaceflight NowĪfter Friday’s mission, SpaceX has launched 2,600 Starlink satellites to date, including spacecraft that were decommissioned or suffered failures. After reaching their operational orbit, the satellites will enter commercial service and begin beaming broadband signals to consumers, who can purchase Starlink service and connect to the network with a SpaceX-supplied ground terminal. The Starlink satellites on Saturday’s mission will fly in one of five orbital “shells” used in SpaceX’s global internet network. The satellites will use on-board propulsion to do the rest of the work to reach a circular orbit 335 miles (540 kilometers) above Earth. The Falcon 9’s guidance computer aimed to deploy the satellites in a near-circular orbit ranging in altitude between 189 miles and 197 miles (305 by 318 kilometers), at an orbital inclination of 53.2 degrees to the equator. Retention rods released from the Starlink payload stack, allowing the flat-packed satellites to fly free from the Falcon 9’s upper stage in orbit. The 53 spacecraft will unfurl solar arrays and run through automated activation steps, then use krypton-fueled ion engines to maneuver into their operational orbit. The rocket coasted halfway around the world before reigniting the Merlin-Vacuum upper stage engine about 45 minutes into the mission, paving the way for separation of the 53 Starlink satellites at T+plus 54 minutes, 32 seconds. The booster - tail number B1073 - flew on its first mission Saturday. The landing of the first stage occurred just prior to shutdown of the upper stage engine. The Falcon 9 rocket for the Starlink 4-15 mission headed northeast from Cape Canaveral, with the first stage landing on the drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean. Two braking burns slowed the rocket for landing on the drone ship around 400 miles (650 kilometers) downrange approximately eight-and-a-half minutes after liftoff. The booster dropped away from the Falcon 9’s upper stage, then fired pulses from cold gas control thrusters and extended titanium grid fins to help steer the vehicle back into the atmosphere. ![]() ![]() The rocket surpassed the speed of sound in about one minute, then shut down its nine main engines two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff. In the final seven minutes before liftoff, the Falcon 9’s Merlin main engines were thermally conditioned for flight through a procedure known as “chilldown.” The Falcon 9’s guidance and range safety systems were also configured for launch at 4:40:50 p.m.Īfter liftoff, the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket vectored its 1.7 million pounds of thrust - produced by nine Merlin engines - to steer northeast over the Atlantic Ocean. Helium pressurant also flowed into the rocket in the final half-hour of the countdown. SpaceX completed preparations on the Falcon 9 rocket Saturday, and began loading super-chilled, densified kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants into the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) vehicle at T-minus 35 minutes. The booster landed on SpaceX’s drone ship “Just Read the Instructions” floating in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Cape Canaveral. It was SpaceX’s 20th launch of the year, and the second of 2022 to debut a new Falcon 9 booster. EDT (2040 GMT) Saturday from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Less than 24 hours after launching Starlink satellites from California, SpaceX lofted another 53 internet relay stations at 4:40 p.m.
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