SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Launches 48 Starlink, 2 BlackSky Satellites [LOOK]

SpaceX has launched the first of four Falcon 9 rocket launches planned for this month. The workhorse rocket launched 48 Starlink satellites and two BlackSky Earth observation satellites into orbit before landing a booster at sea.

At 6:12 p.m. EST, the previously flown Falcon 9 rocket blasted out from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, marking the booster's ninth flight.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket Adds 50 Satellites to Orbit for Starlink Megaconstellation, BlackSky

Swiss Info said that the 290 kilogram Starlink internet satellites joined the SpaceX orbital constellation, including the 1842 spacecraft. The firm is now the world's largest satellite operator.

In the future, SpaceX wants to launch an orbital grouping of 12 thousand of these spacecraft to construct a full-scale network that will deliver broadband Internet connectivity to Earth's people in every corner. The entire investment in the project's implementation is anticipated to be $ 10 billion.

The launch of two BlackSky Earth remote sensing (ERS) satellites, bringing the total number in orbit to ten, is primarily intended to satisfy requests from the US National Space Intelligence Administration (NRO), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and NASA.

At the height of 430 kilometers, BlackSky microsatellites weighing 55 kg each will be launched into orbit. They enable optical pictures with a 50-90 cm resolution to be obtained.

BlackSpy aims to launch two more comparable spacecraft by the end of the year. The number of satellites in its orbital constellation will be increased to 16 by 2022.

How the Launch Went

Space.com said the rocket's first stage returned to Earth around nine minutes after liftoff, landing on SpaceX's drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" for a safe upright landing. The ship is the third movable landing platform in SpaceX's recovery fleet, increasing the total number to three.

It's based at Port Canaveral and works with its counterpart "Just Read the Instructions" to assist East Coast launches. At the moment, the company's drone ship "Of Course I Still Love You" is based in California, capturing rockets returning to Earth off the coast of California.

Just Read the Instructions stayed out at sea owing to delays with SpaceX's most recent crew mission to the International Space Station, authorities said. Even though the drone ships are intended to survive certain wave heights, the teams decided to swap ships (and crews) so that the teams would be fresh for both launches.

Launch Galore

The first of a worldwide launch doubleheader, SpaceX's flight tonight is the first of two. An Arianespace Soyuz rocket will launch two new Galileo navigation satellites into space from French Guiana at 7:23 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 3. The satellites are Europe's version of the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites people utilize in the United States.

Arianespace officials explained on Twitter that the launch was delayed by 24 hours owing to a problem with a tracking station downrange of the launch.

The Falcon 9 launch tonight is the first of five planned launches from Florida in December. The next mission, set for Sunday morning (Dec. 5), will use a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket to launch various payloads for the US Space Force. One of these payloads is the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration, a revolutionary laser communication technology for NASA.

NASA's Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission is set to launch on Dec. 9; a communications satellite for Turkey (Turksat 5B) is set to launch on Dec. 18; and a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station is set to launch on Dec. 21.

Check out more news and information on Starlink in Science Times.