Less than a day after launching a crew to the ISS, SpaceX delivered 53 commercial satellites (including an innovative spacecraft to monitor methane emissions) and 23 Starlink satellites into orbit.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off on a Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday night, beginning a 28-hour flight to deliver a crew of four to the International Space Station. Two more Falcon 9s launched 20 hours later.
The first, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, delivered 53 commercial satellites into orbit as part of SpaceX’s 10th mission in flights designed to enable small operators to launch modest payloads and satellites at low cost. The company charges $300,000 to launch a cargo weighing 110 pounds (about 500 kg) and $6,000 for each additional pound.
One of the satellites launched Monday, MethaneSAT, was developed by a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund in collaboration with Google to measure methane emissions over wide areas of land and sea using a high-resolution infrared instrument.
The second Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral delivered 23 Starlink satellites into orbit, bringing SpaceX’s total number of satellites in orbit to 5,942.
In this way, SpaceX launched three Falcon 9s within 20 hours and two within 1 hour 51 minutes, which was a new record for the Californian rocket manufacturer. This year, the company plans to launch more than 140 rockets of the Falcon series.
Three Falcon 9 chains in 20 hours, pulling to orbits:
— 4 crewmembers headed to the @Space_Station
– 53 rideshare spacecraft
– 23 @Starlink satellites pic.twitter.com/KtBlMrwLDv— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 5, 2024
Source: CBS News
The competition of ITS authors is ongoing. Write an article about game development, gaming and gaming devices and win a professional Logitech G923 Racing Wheel or one of the low-profile Logitech G815 LIGHTSYNC RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard!
