SpaceX launches heaviest payload on nine times reused rocket - Space.com

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SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket lifted its heaviest payload ever into debased Earth orbit connected Thursday greeting (Jan. 26), launching 56 caller Starlink internet-beaming satellites.

The Falcon 9 first-stage booster that propelled the ngo during its ascent done Earth's ambiance had been utilized 8 times previously, including connected 2 crewed missions to the International Space Station (Crew 3 and Crew 4, which launched successful November 2021 and April 2022 respectively).

The 56 Starlink satellites, weighing a combined 17.4 metric tonnes (19.4 tons), according to a SpaceX commentator, were protected by a 5 times reused fairing during the ascent.

A arced airy way beams up into the sky, it's the streak from a timelapse photograph of a SpaceX falcon 9 launch.

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The rocket lifted disconnected smoothly from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station successful Florida aft a ten-minute hold astatine 4:32 a.m. EST (0922 GMT).

The archetypal signifier separated astir 2 minutes and 30 seconds aft lift-off and commenced its controlled descent backmost to Earth. The seasoned archetypal signifier stuck its landing faultlessly astir 8 minutes and 40 seconds aft lift-off erstwhile it touched down connected SpaceX's drone vessel 'Just Read the Instructions' disconnected the Florida coast.

The 2 fairing halves, 1 connected its 5th and the different connected the sixth flight, dropped disconnected from the upper-stage chemoreceptor cone soon aft the archetypal stage's separation and fell into the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX said successful the webstream it intended to retrieve the fairing for further reuse.

About 55 minutes aft lift-off, SpaceX confirmed connected Twitter (opens successful caller tab) that the satellites were successfully released into orbit.

The motorboat volition adhd yet much satellites to SpaceX's elephantine Starlink constellation, which provides net work to customers astir the world.

Starlink already consists of more than 3,400 operational satellites (opens successful caller tab), and that eye-popping fig volition proceed to turn acold into the future. Elon Musk's institution already has support to loft 12,000 Starlink spacecraft, and it has applied for support to deploy astir 30,000 much satellites connected apical of that.

Thursday's motorboat wias the sixth of 2023 already for SpaceX and the company's 205th overall. If the institution keeps up this cadence — a large if, fixed that it's inactive lone January — it volition interruption its single-year motorboat grounds of 61, which it set successful 2022.

Mike Wall is the writer of "Out There (opens successful caller tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a publication astir the hunt for alien life. Follow him connected Twitter @michaeldwall (opens successful caller tab). Follow america connected Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens successful caller tab) or Facebook (opens successful caller tab).

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Michael Wall is simply a Senior Space Writer with Space.com (opens successful caller tab) and joined the squad successful 2010. He chiefly covers exoplanets, spaceflight and subject space, but has been known to dabble successful the abstraction creation beat. His publication astir the hunt for alien life, "Out There," was published connected Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a subject writer, Michael worked arsenic a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. successful evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's grade from the University of Arizona, and a postgraduate certificate successful subject penning from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find retired what his latest task is, you tin travel Michael connected Twitter.

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