SpaceX just launched a new batch of Starlink satellites from Florida, reusing one of its boosters for the eighth time. A record.
SpaceX, which has just ended its 2020 year with no less than 26 successful launches, beating its previous record of 21 launches set in 2018, has just closed the second mission of its fiscal year 2021. This Wednesday, the company indeed distinguished itself by delivering a new batch of sixty Starlink satellites in orbit (video visible at the end of the article).
About eight minutes after launch, booster 1051 then returned to land at sea, on its platform "Just Read the Instructions deployed in the Atlantic Ocean. This landing also marks the 72nd recovery of a first stage rocket for SpaceX.
Most important:this mission will also have marked the eighth flight of this booster. Never had a first stage rocket flown so much. Recall that SpaceX plans to reach the milestone of ten reuses for at least one Falcon 9 booster later this year.
Previously, B1051 released an unmanned Crew Dragon into space as part of a test flight in 2019. Subsequently, it was also deployed to delivering a trio of Earth observation satellites for Canada, as well as four different Starlink missions.
This new launch is also remarkable in that this booster last flew on December 13, 38 days earlier (Sirius XM-7 mission). Again, this is a record. In fact, the turnover margin for a Falcon 9 booster is on average 51 days. In other words, SpaceX reuses more, but also more quickly, its first rocket stages, thus taking advantage of an additional competitive advantage.
This was the 16th launch of "operational" Starlink satellites. Already established as the largest satellite operator in the world, this mission now brings the total number of these satellites to more than 1,000. Some are no longer operational and have already been desorbed.
Recall that SpaceX has already started beta testing of its internet service in North America. This initial testing phase showed that the service was reliable. British users will also soon be able to integrate these tests. The company received a license to start operating in the UK last year, courtesy of local telecommunications regulator Ofcom.
For 2021, the Falcon 9 launch cadence is also expected to ramp up even further, fueled by Starlink satellite deployments. In parallel, the company will continue to send astronauts to the ISS as part of its collaboration with NASA. Elon Musk also plans to multiply the tests of the Starship, the future reusable interplanetary ship from SpaceX, and to begin those of its Super Heavy booster.
