rear The crewed Polaris Dawn launch was canceled late TuesdaySpaceX reversed course and went ahead with plans to launch back-to-back Starlink internet satellites, one each from Florida and California, early Wednesday morning.
However, the second stage flight was aborted after the first stage was used in the Florida launch. Falling into the Atlantic Ocean It broke apart while attempting to land on a SpaceX drone parked several hundred miles northeast of Cape Canaveral. The landing incident ended a streak of 267 successful booster recoveries dating back to February 2021.
Meanwhile, the Falcon 9 second stage successfully delivered the 21 Starlink satellites into their planned orbits.
Michael Caine/Spaceflight Now
The first stage landing appeared normal until the moment of touchdown, when more flames than usual were visible around the base of the rocket as it approached the deck. The landing gear collapsed immediately upon touchdown, and the booster, engulfed in flames and smoke, tumbled over the side of the lander into the Atlantic Ocean.
“Following a successful ascent, the Falcon 9 first stage booster tumbled after landing on the A Shortfall of Gravitas drone,” SpaceX said in a statement on social media site X. “Teams are currently assessing the booster’s flight data and condition.”
This was the 23rd launch and landing of first stage B1062, setting a new record for reuse. SpaceX is working to certify each of its Falcon 9 first stages for up to 40 flights.
SpaceX
SpaceX
SpaceX
Shortly after the Starlinks rocket unfolded after launching from Florida, SpaxeX canceled its planned launch in California at 5:58 a.m. EDT to give engineers more time to review telemetry and video footage for signs of trouble that could affect other rockets.
“We’re pausing tonight’s second @Starlink launch to give our team time to review booster landing data from the previous launch,” SpaceX said on X. “A new launch date will be announced when it is available.”
Here are the latest stats for the Falcon 9 leading up to this morning’s Florida launch:
Total Falcon 9 launches to date: 367
Total Falcon Heavy launches to date: 10
Total Super Heavy/Starship launches to date: 4
Falcon 9/Heavy launches this year: 83 (82 F9, 1 FH)
Falcon 9 in flight/major malfunctions: 2 (15/28/06, 24/11/07)
Number of consecutive successful Falcon 9/Heavy launches: 13
Consecutive successful flights: 344 (June 28, 2015 to July 11, 2015)
Starlink launches to date: 190 (181 dedicated flights, 9 mixed payloads)
Number of Starlink launches this year: 58
Number of Starlink satellites launched so far: 6,920
Starlink directly connectable to cells: 136
Estimated number of Starlink satellites operational for latest launch: 6,269*
Number of payloads SpaceX has launched into orbit this year: 1,548
First stage fleet leader: B1062, 23 flights (booster lost on landing)
Number of California landings to date: 20
Number of Florida landings to date: 54
Drone landings so far: 267 (excluding today’s flight)
Number of successful booster landings: 341
Number of consecutive successful booster landings: 267 (before today’s flight)
*Source: https://planet4589.org/space/con/star/stats.html
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