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CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – SpaceX has just launched one of its Falcon 9 rockets for the seventh record time. The booster took a full stack of 60 Internet Starlink satellites into orbit and then nailed a sea landing.
The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket took off from Space Launch Complex 40 here today (Nov 24) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 9:13 PM EDT (0213 GMT Nov 25), marking the company’s 23rd launch of the year and the 100th absolute flight for the Falcon 9 workhorse.
About 9 minutes later, the booster’s first stage returned to Earth, landing on one of SpaceX’s drone ships in the Atlantic Ocean in a smooth touchdown. The huge ship, called “Of course I still love you”, is one of two recovery ships in the company’s fleet that catch the falling boosters and bring them back to port.
“For the seventh time, this Falcon has landed,” SpaceX engineer Kate Tice said during the live launch broadcast.
Related: SpaceX’s Starlink megaconstellation is launched in photos
This was the third attempt to get this mission off the ground. SpaceX originally planned a doubleheader over the weekend, as it successfully brought the Sentinel-6 satellite into orbit for NASA and several partners, but then had to ditch the Starlink to try to do more checkouts on the rocket. Another attempt was scheduled for Monday (November 23), but bad weather conditions in the recovery zone caused SpaceX to postpone the flight for another 24 hours.
There was rain on the Space Coast that cleared tonight just before takeoff. The rocket thundered overhead as it scrambled through the clouds. As the first stage of the rocket was separating to return to Earth, the clouds cleared and onlookers could see the single engine of the second stage ignite.
The first stage booster featured in today’s flight, known as the B1049, now has seven launches and landings to its credit – the first Falcon 9 with so much flying experience. This frequent flyer has now ferried five different Starlink lots into space, as well as a set of Iridium NEXT satellites and the Telstar 18V mission. Today’s landing marked the 67th recovery of a Falcon first stage since SpaceX recovered its first booster in 2015.
Reusable rockets
Today’s flight marked SpaceX’s 23rd launch of 2020, the company’s busiest launch year. (The previous record was set in 2018, when the company was launched 21 times.) The flight also marks the 100th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket.
Last month, the California-based aerospace company hit the centennial milestone of 100 flights for its Falcon rocket series, which also included the Falcon 1 and Falcon Heavy. The company has released a video highlighting this achievement. But now the Falcon 9 has also hit 100 on its own.
SpaceX launched tonight’s Starlink mission just hours after testing its SN8 Starship prototype rocket in Texas. The SN8’s engines fired for several seconds before a planned test flight that could take place as early as next week.
2020 has already been a bumper year for SpaceX. The record of 23 launches includes two different astronaut missions to the International Space Station in the past six months, the first private manned flights to the orbiting laboratory. This achievement is facilitated by SpaceX’s fleet of proven boosters. SpaceX currently has 10 veteran boosters in its rocket reserves and three brand new heavy boosters that will be used for an upcoming military mission. SpaceX relied on its frequent flyers, having now launched more refurbished rockets than new ones.
To kick off its era of rapid reusability, SpaceX launched a souped-up version of its workhorse, the Falcon 9 Block 5 first stage, in 2018. This updated iteration received a number of new features, including a system of stronger thermal protection, titanium grille fins, a more durable interstage (the hardware that connects the two stages of the rocket) and more powerful motors.
Now with over 1.7 million pounds of thrust, the updated Falcon 9 has performed reliably (although the rocket has experienced two launchpad outages in the past few months) since it launched its first payload in 2018, a satellite. for communications for Bangladesh. With that 2018 launch, the company hailed the moderately reusable Falcons of the past, ushering in a new era where the same rocket has the ability to fly many times.
Since then, SpaceX has worked to refine its reusable missile technology. Its track record with flight-tested rockets has even earned the company the right to launch U.S. military and national security payloads as well as astronauts on previously piloted rockets.
And now the company has launched and landed the same rocket seven times.
Related: Take a ride through space (and back) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in this awesome video
A Starlink megaconstellation
SpaceX has its eyes on Mars and hopes to help make humanity a multiplanetary species. To help raise the funds needed to accomplish that daring goal, the company developed a plan to cover the Earth with Internet coverage broadcast by a network of broadband satellites. This Starlink megaconstellation would be made up of thousands of satellites, flying close to the planet in low earth orbit.
With the launch tonight, the company has now sent more than 900 quarter-tonne flat panel satellites into space – a milestone that will help SpaceX launch its Starlink Internet service. There are still regulatory hurdles to overcome and more satellites to launch before the service can be offered globally, but initial testing is promising, company representatives said.
SpaceX’s megaconstellation Starlink has one main goal in mind: to provide more affordable high-speed Internet access around the world, particularly for those in rural and remote areas. To that end, the company initially planned a fleet of 1,440 satellites, but has since gained approval for thousands more.
The US Federal Communications Commission has granted SpaceX permission to launch up to 12,000 flat-panel broadband satellites, but SpaceX may not stop there. The company has indicated it may seek approval to launch up to 30,000 other Starlink satellites to broadcast high-speed, low-latency Internet signals.
Related: Because SpaceX’s Starlink satellites took astronomers by surprise
Beta test
The burgeoning Internet service has already undergone a private beta test program in which company employees put their broadband service to the test. According to reports from SpaceX team members, current data indicates that the service can support multiple high-definition streams simultaneously.
SpaceX recently launched a public beta test program, inviting users to purchase ground equipment and then test the service. The test program, dubbed “Better Than Nothing Beta,” requires users to purchase Starlink ground equipment for $ 499 and then pay a $ 99 monthly fee for active service.
The initial public beta test was limited, but more calls are expected to be released in January before the official service is rolled out. Project engineers held an AMA Reddit (“Ask Me Anything”) over the weekend where they answered questions about the service.
“Starlink is an extremely flexible system and will improve over time as we make the software smarter. Latency, bandwidth and reliability can all be significantly improved,” wrote the engineers under the Reddit username “DishyMcFlatface”, the nickname of SpaceX for the Starlink satellite dish.
The Starlink team also revealed that SpaceX is “steadily increasing network access over time to engage as many people as possible,” the team wrote in the AMA thread. “Specifically, we plan to move from a limited beta to a larger beta at the end of January, which should give more users the opportunity to participate.”
“Expect to see data speeds vary from 50 Mbps [megabits per second] at 150 Mbps and latency from 20 ms [milliseconds] to 40 ms in the coming months as we improve the Starlink system. There will also be short periods of no connectivity, ”said the invitation, which was posted on Reddit by one user in Washington state and another in Wisconsin.
In the AMA, members of the Starlink team answered questions about the latency and dropouts experienced by users.
“You should think of the communication between the Starlink dish and the satellite in space as a ‘thin beam’ between Dishy and the satellite,” they wrote. “So because the satellite passes quickly overhead, if there is a branch or pole between the dish and the satellite, you will usually lose the connection (note: obstacles generally cause interruptions and non-reduced speeds!)”.
The Starlink team also explained how the dish locates satellites. “[The dish] it can electronically scan the sky in milliseconds and lock onto the satellite overhead, even though it’s traveling at 17,500 mph up high, “replied DishyMcFlatface.” When it detects a satellite, the Starlink gets into position and joins the Internet. After that, the dish is able to download a schedule of the next satellites to talk to, and with that it can point right at the satellites when the time comes. “
The Starlink team also said they are open to user ideas on how to improve the plug-and-play experience. “We spent a lot of effort and went through tons and tons of creative ideas on how to make this experience as simple as possible, including mounting solutions, automated dish pointing and general unboxing,” the project engineers wrote.
Dynamic duo
As part of its recovery efforts, SpaceX has deployed one of its catcher double fairing boats – GO Ms. Chief. (Payload fairings surround the satellites, protecting them during launch. SpaceX fairings return to Earth in two pieces.)
The other boat, GO Ms. Tree, is still set aside after being damaged in a previous mission. The ship was spotted leaving Port Canaveral this week and potentially conducting some sea trials before returning to service.
To assist GO Ms. Chief, one of SpaceX’s dragon recovery ships, GO Searcher, has been converted into a fairing catcher to aid recovery efforts in the meantime.
Recovery efforts with GO Ms. Chief are expected to occur approximately 45 minutes after launch.
Follow Amy Thompson on Twitter @astrogingersnap. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
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