SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets just over an hour apart early Saturday morning (August 31), successfully landing the boosters in succession three days after a recent failure.
The two Falcon 9 launches, from Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida and Vandenberg Space Center in California respectively, delivered a total of 42 Starlink internet satellites into orbit, with the first stage of each rocket successfully landing in the ocean. SpaceX’s successful landing marked a record-breaking landing for the company after a Falcon 9 rocket failed to land during its booster’s 23rd flight on August 28.
“Great job from the SpaceX team,” SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote. About X (Formerly Twitter) After the double launch.
Space activity kicked off in Florida with the surprising pre-dawn launch of SpaceX’s Starlink 8-10 mission. The mission blasted off on a Falcon 9 rocket at 3:43 a.m. EDT (7:43 a.m. GMT) carrying 21 Starlink satellites, 13 of which will feature a new “Direct to Cell” feature that will allow them to connect directly to smartphones on Earth. (SpaceX has a deal with T-Mobile to provide direct cell access as it builds out its massive mega-constellation of Starlink satellites.)
The flight’s first-stage booster completed its 18th launch and landing, after 13 Starlink missions, NASA’s Dragon cargo flight, and three commercial satellite missions. The booster landed on SpaceX’s drone ship Just Read the Instructions in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Falcon 9 first stage has landed on the Just Read The Directions drone ship, completing the booster’s 18th launch and landing. pic.twitter.com/zScs23zrAQAugust 31, 2024
SpaceX followed up the Starlink launch in Florida with the Starlink 9-5 mission, which lifted off just 65 minutes later at 1:48 PDT (4:48 AM EDT/0848 GMT) from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex-4 East.
The mission, the ninth flight of the Falcon 9 booster, delivered 21 Starlink satellites into orbit, including 13 more Direct to Cell satellites. The rocket landed on SpaceX’s “Of Course I Still Love You” drone over the Pacific Ocean.
Falcon 9 lands on “Of Course I Still Love You” drone ship pic.twitter.com/0ta7MLEhhKAugust 31, 2024
The back-to-back launches of Starlink missions came one day after SpaceX received clearance from the FAA to resume Falcon 9 launches while the FAA was investigating an Aug. 28 booster landing during another Starlink launch. That mission successfully launched 21 Starlink satellites into orbit, but the booster apparently caught fire and tipped over after landing on a drone ship.
Photo of the booster debris As the ship returned to Cape Canaveral, photos taken by photographer John Krauss showed only charred sections of the rocket engine and broken landing gear remaining.
There is very little of Falcon 9 B1062 left. It is important to remember that after 23 flights, this rocket has flown 22 more times than any other orbital-class rocket booster. We celebrate this rocket’s successful mission and hope that future boosters will break even more reuse records. pic.twitter.com/3S3O1unPXMAugust 30, 2024
“While the full investigation into the anomaly during the Starlink Group 8-6 mission continues, the SpaceX Falcon 9 may be able to return to flight operations provided all other license requirements are met,” FAA officials said in a statement late Friday (August 30). SpaceX requested a return to flight on August 29, and the FAA approved it on August 30.
Meanwhile, SpaceX is preparing to launch its first crewed spaceflight since another Falcon 9 launch failure in July that led to the loss of 20 Starlink satellites. The cause was a leak in the Falcon 9’s second stage. That crewed flight, called Polaris Dawn, has been postponed from Aug. 26 due to weather concerns and additional rocket inspections.
Backed by American billionaire Jared Isaacman, Polaris Dawn is an ambitious private spaceflight that will attempt the world’s first commercial spacewalk and NASA’s highest orbital spaceflight since the Apollo era.
