SpaceX has begun the countdown to the New Year, with plans to launch the first of three rockets in 2024.
one Falcon 9 The rocket carried the company’s 22 Starlink The satellite lifted off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Saturday (December 28). The mission launched from the Space Launch Complex East-4 (SLC-4E) at 8:48 pm EST (5:48 pm PST, or 0148 GMT on December 29).
These satellites are deployed to low earth orbit About 65 minutes later, as planned. This is SpaceX’s 132nd Falcon launch this year, with two more launches planned in the next two days – a commercial communications satellite mission and another batch of Starlink satellites.
Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX’s vice president of launches, wrote: “We are now targeting 134 launches, two fewer than our last goal, to achieve a strong 2024 target.” on social media network. “Cheers to the last days of 2024 and an even better 2025!”
The Falcon 9’s first stage returned safely to Earth on Saturday, landing on the “Of Course I Still Love You” drone in the Pacific Ocean about eight minutes after liftoff.
This is the booster’s 16th landing, according to a spokesman Company Mission Description. To date, 12 of its 16 flights have been Starlink missions.
This is the 88th launch of Starlink broadband network satellites by SpaceX this year. Only one of them failed due to the leakage of liquid oxygen from the upper stage.
“Ultimately, only one number really matters. Zero failures. Our top priority was – and remains – safety and reliability above all else.
The Starlink megaconstellation—the largest ever built—currently consists of nearly 6,700 active spacecraft, according to Satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell.