Featured Image Source: Matt @Booster_Buddies via Twitter
SpaceX is a leader in aerospace innovation -rocket reusability is one of its top priorities. The company has designed and manufactured some of the world’s most advanced rockets, capable of launching payload to orbit and returning from space to be reused. Aerospace companies use a rocket once; SpaceX engineers developed a rocket recovery system to reuse the first-stage booster of the two-stage Falcon 9 rocket. To date, the company has successfully returned 58 orbital-class rocket boosters from space, soon after deploying payload. A Falcon 9’s first-stage features the capability to conduct vertical landings on autonomous drone ships at sea. Engineers truly introduced a great innovation to the aerospace industry.
The company aims to one day accomplish developing a rocket that can be as reusable as airplanes. For now, SpaceX’s reusability goal is to reuse a booster 10 times, they are halfway towards reaching that milestone. A couple of Falcon 9 first-stage boosters have already re-flown 5 times. The next Starlink mission is special because it will be the first time SpaceX will reuse a Falcon 9’s booster for the 6th time. It will also be the 100th rocket launch conducted by the aerospace company. – “Some big milestones coming up,” the founder of SpaceX Elon Musk shared his excitement via Twitter.
SpaceX is scheduled to conduct Starlink’s eleventh mission next week. A five-times-flown Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to liftoff on Tuesday, August 18 at 10:30 a.m. EDT. from Launch Pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Riding along with SpaceX's 58 internet-beaming Starlink satellites are a trio of Earth-imaging SkySat satellites for Planet Labs.
Some big milestones coming up https://t.co/K3v3yddg6J
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 17, 2020
The special Falcon 9 first-stage booster that will deploy all satellites during its 6th flight, is referred to as B1049. It first flew in September 2018 during the Telstar 18 VANTAGE mission, and it landed aboard the Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) autonomous drone ship at sea. SpaceX then transported B1049 from Cape Canaveral to Vandenberg to conduct its second flight. In January 2019, B1049 deployed 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit then successfully landed aboard the company’s Just Read The Instructions (JRTI) drone ship. B1049 was then trucked back to Cape Canaveral to conduct a Starlink mission in May 2019 and it landed on OCISLY.
About half a year later, in January 2020, it deployed another Starlink mission, landed on OCISLY again. Most recently, on June 3, B1049 conducted its fifth mission, when it launched more Starlink satellites; It landed flawlessly on JRTI (video below). – “Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship – the first orbital-class rocket booster to successfully launch and land five times!” the company said.
Now, B1049 will conduct the Starlink/SkySat mission on Tuesday, and SpaceX will attempt to land the booster a 6th time! If the company achieves a flawless landing, it will mark another reusability milestone that takes the company closer towards reusing a particular rocket’s first-stage 10 times.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship – the first orbital class rocket booster to successfully launch and land five times! pic.twitter.com/WCiFyyGn7g
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 4, 2020
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
