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SpaceX is about to catch up a new milestone in the race to reuse rockets.
On Sunday, the CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk revealed on Twitter the company is about to launch the same rocket for the seventh time.
The launch is expected to send the 16th batch of 60 Starlink satellites. It will take place at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and is scheduled for Monday night at 9:34 pm Eastern (though times may change).
After launch, SpaceX plans to land the booster on Of course I still love you droneship, which would also set a record as the first time SpaceX landed the same booster seven times.
The feat is an impressive step forward in SpaceX’s goal of reusing rockets and reducing the costs of spaceflight. Reusing the booster saves about 75 percent of the overall price, according to Musk. At the time he made this claim, the price of the Falcon 9 was around $ 60 million.
The reuse of rockets is crucial for SpaceX to realize its most ambitious missions. The company is developing the Starship, a giant stainless steel ship designed to send humans to Mars and beyond. The ship can apparently be refueled on Mars, allowing the astronauts to return home. But that also requires the technology to ensure the rockets can land and then take off again.
The launch on Monday will be the seventh flight for this Falcon 9.
Core B1049 has already flown on:
- The Telstar 18 mission on 10 September 2018. The landing marked the first time that one of SpaceX’s drones, Of course I still love you, has captured more than four boosters in one year.
- The Iridium-8 mission on 11 January 2019. This launch marked the end of a $ 3 billion two-year project to upgrade the Iridium constellation with 75 satellites. This was also the first successful landing in 2019.
- The first Starlink mission on May 24, 2019. This mission sent the first batch of 60 satellites.
- The third batch of 60 Starlink satellites, which took place on January 6, 2020.
- The eighth batch of satellites on June 3, 2020. The landing after this mission was also the first time SpaceX has flown and landed the same booster five times.
- The eleventh batch of satellites on August 18, 2020.
The timing for the latest SpaceX launch is set, but it remains to be seen if it will make it. SpaceX originally planned to launch the booster on Sunday, but delayed the launch by less than an hour due to the “mission guarantee”.
He announced the delay through his Twitter page:
“Give up on today’s launch of Starlink. The rocket and payload are healthy; teams will take longer to complete data reviews and are now working on backup opportunities on Monday November 23 at 9:34 pm, but keeping an eye on the meteorological conditions of recovery “
The mission will support SpaceX’s emerging Starlink Internet connectivity constellation. This is designed to offer high-speed, low-latency Internet access to almost anyone with a view of the night sky. A beta test is currently underway and SpaceX plans to extend coverage to almost the entire populated world next year.
The Reverse analysis – Yet Another Delayed Launch: This isn’t the first time this year that SpaceX has paused a launch. Moss posted on Twitter in October that “we will have to make many improvements to be able to complete 48 launches next year”. But it is undeniable that the company is on the verge of reaching an important milestone.
The record translates into progress in improving the economics of space flight. A reusable rocket has trade-offs over a disposable rocket, as teams have to design for recovery and landing, a time-consuming and expensive process. United Launch Alliance CEO Tony Bruno said in April 2020 that a fleet average of 10 flights is needed to make reuse worthwhile, but Musk replied that three flights are enough.
But if things go according to SpaceX’s plans, the Falcon 9 is close to hitting those impressive double-digit reuses.
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