At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX launched yet another rocket – its 14th record-tying mission for the Falcon 9 first stage – mere yards away from NASA’s troublesome Artemis 1 spacecraft, which is unlikely to launch before October.
At approximately 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, 34 Starlink internet satellites were launched into space, with another launch scheduled for Sunday.
The 230-foot unmanned rocket was launched into low-Earth orbit alongside AST SpaceMobile’s BlueWalker 3 communications test satellite.
Starlink is a satellite constellation that delivers Internet connection through satellite to 40 nations.
SpaceX’s launch from Cape Canaveral was the sixty-first launch for Starlink and the fortieth orbital mission of 2022. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, has stated on several times that, after 2023, he intends to provide global cyberspace coverage via satellite personal communications service.
Saturday marks the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 34 Starlink satellites from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Space X utilized the same first stage rocket for a record-breaking 14th time, after having previously used it on Starlink-related and other SpaceX missions.
From Cape Canaveral, the Falcon 9 rocket also launched the AST SpaceMobile BlueWalker 3 satellite.
Florida’s Falcon 9 rocket was Starlink’s 60th launch and 40th orbital mission thus far in 2022.
Once the first stage had reached orbit, Space X shared a video of its landing on Twitter.
Late in August, the South African-born businessman reached an agreement with T-Mobile to provide cellphones with direct access via Starlink Version 2 satellites.
In 2019, Space X began launching Starlink satellites. This is the company’s 179th launch overall. The rocket’s first stage booster landed in the Atlantic Ocean on its newest ship for rocket landings at sea, A Shortfall to Gravitas, during Saturday’s Falcon 9 launch.
The first stage rocket was previously utilized for eight Starlink mission launches. Using the same rocket engine, the Demo-2, ANASIS-II, CRS-21 Transporter 1, and Transporter 3 were also able to take flight.
Saturday’s launch was delayed by 10 minutes owing to inclement weather conditions in the Sunshine State.
However, this delay pales in comparison to the ongoing problems with NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket. This week it was revealed that the federal space agency is changing leaking seals on its moon rocket on the launch pad, which might delay the spacecraft’s launch into orbit by an extra six weeks.
When Artemis 1 is finally launched for the first time, the mission will be unmanned, but it will prepare the path for the return of American astronauts to the moon.
Managers announced Thursday that they will conduct a second test following the repairs to confirm that any hydrogen fuel leaks have been sealed.
If this test is successful and the Space Force grants a dispensation for flight safety, NASA could attempt to launch the 322-foot rocket again in late September. If not, the rocket will return to the hangar for extra maintenance, delaying the launch until at least October.
Now, October appears to be the most likely choice.
Last week, a series of hydrogen fuel leaks and other issues interrupted consecutive launch attempts.
The most powerful rocket ever constructed by NASA, the Space Launch System rocket carries a crew capsule with three test dummies. Before placing people on the next voyage in 2024, the space agency intends to fly the spacecraft into lunar orbit for a test run. This mission would pave the way for the first human moon landing in fifty years, which is presently scheduled for 2025.
Jim Free, who is in charge of the development of NASA’s exploration systems, told the Associated Press, “We need to complete the tanking test and then we’ll have to assess the timetable and realism” of attempting a launch as early as September 23.
NASA called off its most recent launch attempt on Saturday and rolled the rocket back to the vehicle assembly building because engineers were unable to fix a dangerous hydrogen fuel leak before today, the last day of the current launch window.
NASA administrator Bill Nelson stated following the most recent aborted launch, “We go when it’s ready.” We’re not flying till then, and especially now on a test flight, because we’re going to stress and test this, as well as the heat shield, and make sure everything is in order before we put four humans on top.
NASA needs approval from the Space Force at Cape Canaveral, which controls the rocket’s self-destruct system, to launch by the end of September. Batteries are required to activate the system should the rocket deviate towards populated regions. Periodically, these batteries must be retested, which may only be done in the hangar. To prevent returning the rocket to the hangar, the military would need to lengthen the approval process for these batteries by at least two weeks.
However, every time the rocket is moved between the hangar and launch pad, ‘regular wear and tear’ is added, and head engineer John Blevins does not want to do that unless absolutely essential. This year, the launch pad has already been visited three times for practice countdowns and the failed launches on August 29 and Saturday.
Engineers are hoping that replacing a pair of gaskets on the bottom of the rocket’s hydrogen fuel lines would eliminate any remaining leaks.
According to program manager Mike Bolger, the launch crew would employ a ‘kinder and gentler approach to tanking’ during the last part of the countdown, reducing the flow of fuel at times to relieve stress on the seals.
“We are optimistic that we can solve this issue,” he told reporters.
NASA’s new lunar exploration program, which is years behind schedule and billions over budget, is dubbed Artemis after Apollo’s twin sister in Greek mythology. During the Apollo program, twelve astronauts walked on the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s.