SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched two European navigation satellites this evening (September 17th) and landed them safely, completing its 22nd mission.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying two spacecraft for Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation constellation lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 6:50 p.m. EDT tonight (6:50 p.m. GMT).
The Falcon 9 first stage returned to Earth safely as scheduled and landed in the ocean aboard SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions drone about 8.5 minutes after launch. SpaceX Mission DescriptionThis was the booster’s 22nd launch and landing, one short of the company’s reuse record.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 upper stage continued to deliver the two Galileo satellites to a medium orbit, which will be inserted into the orbit about 3.5 hours after launch if all goes as planned.
Related: SpaceX launches two Galileo navigation satellites into orbit (video)
The Galileo constellation is Europe’s equivalent of the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), positioned at an altitude of 14,430 miles (23,222 kilometers). Thirty-two Galileo satellites have been launched so far, all but four aboard Russian-made Soyuz rockets or Europe’s Ariane 5 heavy rockets.
The first two were launched in April this year on a Falcon 9. After exhausting other options, Europe signed a contract with SpaceX to launch Galileo in late 2023. Europe cut most of its space ties with Russia after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the Ariane 5 was retired last summer. (The Ariane 5’s successor, the Ariane 6, launched for the first time in July this year.)
SpaceX’s launch contract covers up to four Galileo spacecraft, and tonight’s launch is expected to fulfill the contract.
During the Galileo launch in April, the Falcon 9 first stage did not attempt to land safely, running out of fuel to turn itself around for a vertical landing and making an emergency landing in the ocean.
Tonight’s mission is to send a satellite to the same distant orbital destination, but SpaceX has learned enough from Galileo’s first launch to bring this Falcon 9 home safely.
“Data from this mission enabled subtle design and operational modifications, including mass reduction and orbital adjustments, that will enable the safe recovery and reuse of the booster,” the company wrote in a mission description posted ahead of tonight’s launch.
“This landing attempt will test the limits of recovery and provide valuable data on vehicle design for these high-altitude entry conditions,” the company added. “This will in turn inform future vehicle design innovations to make vehicles more robust and rapidly reusable while adapting to more challenging re-entry conditions.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 7:45 p.m. ET on September 17 with news that the launch and booster landing were successful.
