SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket poised for another Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral.
SpaceX has another cool launch coming up real soon with their trusty old Falcon 9 rocket! This will be a special one because the booster they're using, called B1062, will be setting a new record - it's flying for the 21st time! That's right, this very same first stage has launched over 20 times which is incredible when you think about how delicate rockets are. Pretty neat that SpaceX has managed to reuse their Falcon 9 boosters so extensively.
The goal for this mission, code named Starlink 6-59, is to send 23 more internet satellites into low Earth orbit as part of SpaceX's ambitious plan to beam broadband all over the globe using satellites. Once these new ones are up, it'll be the 36th Starlink launch this year alone! Elon Musk's crew has really been cranking them out.
If you want to check out the liftoff live, the folks over at Spaceflight Now will be providing coverage starting about an hour before the big event. I'm sure lots of SpaceX fans will be tuning in to see the record-setting 21st flight of booster B1062. With any luck, it'll launch without a hitch and help SpaceX get even closer to completing their constellation plan. Only time will tell, but it's always cool following along with these types of space missions.
The Many Missions of SpaceX Booster B1062
This SpaceX rocket booster has had quite the busy career so far! Known as B1062, it made its debut back in November 2020 and has launched a ton of cool stuff since. Right off the bat it sent up two GPS satellites which is pretty nifty. But that's not all - this trusty booster has flown two crewed missions which is insanely impressive. Yup, B1062 helped carry not one but two crews of astronauts to the International Space Station as part of Inspiration4 and Axiom-1. On top of that, it's launched a whopping 13 Starlink missions to help build out SpaceX's internet satellite constellation. In total, B1062 has launched over 500 satellites and Crew Dragon capsules into orbit, which is just mind-blowing to think about.
Most recently, about a month ago this same booster launched another batch of Starlink sats. And like usual, right around the 8.5 minute mark after liftoff, B1062 did its thing and landed successfully on one of SpaceX's giant robot drone ships called "A Shortfall of Gravitas." If all goes well for this upcoming launch, it'll be the 70th landing on that very ship and the 309th Falcon booster landing overall. Those are some seriously impressive stats for reusable rocket tech! No wonder SpaceX is so successfully advancing spaceflight reusability with workhorses like booster B1062.
*Prepping for the Next Starship Launch *
While all the folks at SpaceX have been getting ready for their big Falcon 9 launch coming up this Friday, they've also been super busy down in Boca Chica, Texas. At their Starbase facility there, they’ve been doing a ton of work to prepare for the next test flight of their giant Starship rocket.
Just last Wednesday, May 15th, they stacked the nearly 400 foot tall Starship atop its booster at the launch pad. Then the very next day, they did a sort of “partial dress rehearsal” where they practiced loading up the vehicle with cryogenic liquid methane and oxygen - you know, the rocket fuel.
They’re still waiting on approval from the FAA for the go ahead on the actual launch though. Based on a tweet by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, it’s looking like the flight could happen in roughly 3 to 5 weeks. Kathy Leuders, who runs the Starbase facility, also said they're aiming to have the okay by the end of May or start of June.
But it sure seems like they’re ready to fly as soon as the license comes through. As Leuders put it, “the first day we get that license, we’re going to fly.” At the same time, she mentioned they've already started testing other Starship rockets beyond just this fourth mission. It sounds like they're always hard at work on improving and advancing their vehicle designs. Only time will tell when that next launch happens, but the SpaceX crew is staying busy prepping Starship to keep reaching new heights!
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