Less than a day after launching the crew to the ISS, SpaceX delivered 53 commercial satellites to orbit (including an innovative spacecraft for tracking methane emissions) and 23 Starlink satellites.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft took off on a Falcon 9 from the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday night, beginning a 28-hour flight to deliver a crew of 4 people to the International Space Station. 20 hours later, two more Falcon 9 launches took place.
The first one, launched from Vandenberg, delivered 53 commercial satellites into orbit as part of SpaceX's 10th mission for flights aimed at giving small operators the opportunity to launch modest payloads and satellites at a relatively low cost. The company charges $300,000 for launching a payload weighing 110 pounds (about 500 kg) and an additional $6,000 for each additional pound.
One of the satellites launched on Monday, MethaneSAT, was developed by an environmental protection subsidiary in collaboration with Google to measure methane emissions over large land and sea areas using a high-resolution infrared instrument.
The second Falcon 9, launched from Cape Canaveral, delivered 23 Starlink satellites to orbit, increasing SpaceX's total number of satellites in orbit to 5942.
Thus, SpaceX launched three Falcon 9 rockets within 20 hours and two within just 1 hour and 51 minutes, setting a new record for the California rocket manufacturer. This year the company plans to launch over 140 Falcon rockets.
Three Falcon 9 launches in 20 hours, carrying to orbit:
— 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
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