SpaceX introduced its one centesimal rocket of the yr early Tuesday morning (Oct. 15), and adopted it up with every other liftoff simply hours later.SpaceX’s centenary project of the yr lifted off from Florida, with a Falcon 9 rocket wearing 23 of the corporate’s Starlink web satellites aloft. The project introduced from Florida’s Cape Canaveral House Drive Station at 2:10 a.m. EDT (0610 GMT). As same old, the Falcon 9’s first-stage booster got here again to Earth safely, touching down at the drone send “A Shortfall of Gravitas” off the Florida coast about 8 mins after release.The corporate adopted up that milestone with every other release two hours later, from the other U.S. coast. SpaceX’s one hundred and first liftoff of 2024 noticed 20 extra Starlinks leap to area from Vandenberg House Drive Base in California at 4:21 a.m. EDT (0821 GMT, or 1:21 a.m. native California time). The primary-stage booster from that flight additionally safely returned to Earth.
A Falcon 9 rocket sends 20 Starlink satellites to area from Vandenberg House Drive Base in California on Oct. 15, 2024. (Symbol credit score: SpaceX)Those two launches weren’t the one ones via SpaceX in contemporary days. As an example, the corporate’s Falcon Heavy rocket despatched NASA’s Europa Clipper project towards the icy Jupiter ocean moon Europa on Monday (Oct. 14). Comparable: SpaceX makes Starlink web provider loose for other folks hit via hurricanes Helene and MiltonIn addition, SpaceX’s Starship megarocket soared to area Sunday (Oct. 13) on a take a look at flight that featured a dramatic release tower catch of the car’s Tremendous Heavy first degree. And Europe’s Hera probe flew to area aboard a Falcon 9 on Oct. 9, heading towards an asteroid prior to now smacked via NASA’s DART project.
A Falcon 9 sends 20 Starlink satellites to area from Vandenberg House Drive Base in California on Oct. 15, 2024. (Symbol credit score: SpaceX)Much more remarkably, SpaceX handiest gained reauthorization to release Falcon 9 missions on Oct. 11, after the rocket had a topic with its higher degree all through the release of the Group-9 astronaut project to the Global House Station on Sept. 28. (Hera was once a one-time exception granted via the Federal Aviation Management.) Breaking area information, the newest updates on rocket launches, skywatching occasions and extra!SpaceX, in truth, has confronted down 3 Falcon 9 anomalies and groundings in the previous few months and swiftly returned to flight every time.
A Falcon 9 rocket sends 23 Starlink satellites to area from Cape Canaveral House Drive Station in Florida on Oct. 15, 2024. (Symbol credit score: SpaceX)The primary factor, on July 11, came about after an upper-stage propellant leak brought about 20 Starlink satellites to be deployed at too low an altitude, resulting in their loss. The Falcon 9 was once grounded for more or less two weeks after that incident.On Aug. 28, a Falcon 9 first degree didn’t land safely after a a hit Starlink release, however SpaceX had the rocket flying with FAA permission simply 3 days later. The FAA famous in a remark Oct. 11 that it has “closed the SpaceX-led investigations for the Falcon 9 mishaps that came about” on the ones two missions.The motion of the previous few days driven SpaceX previous its earlier report of 98 launches, set in 2023. SpaceX is probably the most prolific launching entity on this planet. China is 2nd this yr, with 47 missions to area to this point. Falcon 9 rockets have carried out 96 of SpaceX’s 101 launches in 2024 to this point. Two-thirds of the ones Falcon 9 flights had been devoted to construction out the Starlink megaconstellation. SpaceX has additionally introduced two Falcon Heavy missions and 3 Starship take a look at flights this yr.
