SpaceX rocket launches another record-breaking Starlink mission
On September 24, at 03:38 UTC, a Falcon 9 rocket was launched from the SLC-40 launch complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The carrier sent 22 Starlink v2 mini broadband satellites into low Earth orbit.
This was the record 17th flight for the rocket’s first stage: B1060 successfully landed on the Just Read the Instructions floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean. The SpaceX Bob vessel is engaged in catching the rocket’s main fairing flaps from the water.
This broke the company’s reuse record, set just four days earlier by another Falcon 9 rocket during the launch of the previous batch of Starlink satellites. And yes, SpaceX launches its rockets with a frequency of 4-7 days. Sometimes even more often.
Meanwhile, 22 Starlink satellites were deployed from the upper stage of the Falcon 9 about 65 minutes after launch.
As a reminder, Starlink is an Internet mega constellation of SpaceX that provides broadband access services to customers around the world, including Ukraine.
Recently, SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Starlink have been involved in high-profile scandals because Musk deliberately turned off the network and thus prevented the Ukrainian Armed Forces from de-occupying the Ukrainian territories previously occupied by Russia. You can read the details of the scandal in the article Elon Musk explains the disruption of the Ukrainian Armed Forces operation in Crimea by US sanctions
Starlink currently consists of more than 4,750 operational satellites, and this number will continue to grow in the future. SpaceX is authorized to launch 12,000 broadband vehicles and has applied to launch another 30,000.
