For SpaceUpClose.com & RocketSTEM
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink high speed internet satellites to low Earth orbit on Thursday morning, Mar. 3, while flying once again on a once rare southeasterly trajectory from Florida’s Spaceport and while using only the third ever reused Falcon 9 booster to launch 11 times!
Furthermore SpaceX landed the first stage booster for an 11th time as well.
Thursdays launch also counts as SpaceX’s 9th Falcon 9 launch in the first 9 weeks of 2022 – continuing a blistering pace of one a week and keeps SpaceX on track to potentially reach their incredible goal of about 50 launches total in 2022. Significantly more than the record breaking 31 launches achieved in 2021.
Launch of the 229 foot tall (70 meter) two stage Falcon 9 took place Thursday, Mar. 3 at 9:25 a.m. EST (1425 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying a payload of 47 Starlink broad band high speed internet satellites to low Earth orbit on the Starlink 4-9 mission – during an instantaneous launch window.
This was also the 2nd launch in 3 days from the Florida Space Coast following the ULA Atlas V GOES-T advanced weather satellite launch for NASA and NOAA on Tuesday, March 1.
The cluster of 9 Merlin 1D first stage engines generated 1.7 million pounds of liftoff thrust upon ignition fueled by LOX and RP-1 propellants.
The rocket flew on a southern trajectory along Florida’s eastern coast over the Atlantic Ocean and may have been visible from cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale given the crystal clear skies.
Following stage separation, SpaceX landed Falcon 9’s first stage on the Just Read the Instructions (JRTI) ocean going droneship some eight and a half minutes after launch – which was prepositioned in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 3, 2022
Enjoy our launch photos of the Starlink 4-9 mission taken by Ken Kremer and Jean Wright for Space UpClose
The Falcon 9 first stage booster designated as tail number B1060 has now flown to space and back eleven times – and is only the third booster to achieve that record.
B1060.11 is now likely to be refurbished and reflown at some point for an eleventh time.
The first stage booster B1060.11 supporting this mission previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat-5A, Transporter 2, and seven Starlink missions.
That first B1060 launch of the GPS III-3 mission took place in June 2020, just under two years ago.
This Starlink 4-9 mission also counts as the 6th SpaceX Starlink mission of 2022.
The 47 flat-paneled and flat packed Starlink satellites were released from the upper stage at T+1 hour 5 minutes, 47 seconds at an inclination of 53.2 degrees to the equator and a near circular orbit at an altitude of about 200 miles (320 kilometers).
However the live SpaceX webcast ended before the deployment, so confirmation by SpaceX didn’t come until a tweet later.
Deployment of 47 Starlink satellites confirmed
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 3, 2022
The roughly quarter ton solar powered Starlink satellites will use their krypton fueled ion thrusters to reach their operational altitude of about 335 miles (540 kilometers).
The payload comprises 47 upgraded Starlink internet communications satellites manufactured by SpaceX in their Redmond, Washington production facility – enlarging the existing and burgeoning broadband constellation to over 2200 launched thus far.
This Starlink 4-9 mission counts as the 40th Starlink internet satellite mission and raises the total number of Starlink satellites launched to 2,234, including prototypes and test versions.
A running tally is maintained by astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell of Harvard.
https://planet4589.org/space/stats/star/starstats.html
Approximately 2016 of them remain in orbit and 1991 are still working and about 1555 are actually operational.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 flew away and aloft on a southerly trajectory heading southeast and just north of the Bahamas at an inclination of 53.2 degrees into the second of five Starlink orbital ‘shells.’
The goal of SpaceX’s Starlink constellation is to provide low cost, high-speed, low-latency broadband connectivity around the world.
SpaceX is targeting an initial constellation of about 4,400 satellites authorized by the FCC that could grow to literally 30,000 or more over time.
SpaceX is also working to recover the payload fairing halves supporting this mission using the recovery ship Bob.
The payload fairings for this mission were also recycled. One has now flown three times and the other half has flown four times.
In recent days SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has started Starlink internet service in Ukraine following an urgent request from the Ukrainian government.
SpaceX has shipped Starlink internet terminals to Ukraine to restore service destroyed by the horrific, deadly and catastrophic Russian invasion started by Putin
The next SpaceX launch is targeting March 8 with more Starlinks.
SpaceX webcast video:
Watch Falcon 9 launch 47 Starlink satellites to orbit → https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK https://t.co/PdZ7PEGIPd
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 3, 2022
The next SpaceX launch is targeting March 8 with more Starlinks.
Watch Ken’s continuing reports about SpaceX Starlink, SpaceX Crew and Cargo Dragons, Artemis, SLS, Orion and NASA missions, DART, Lucy Asteroid mission, Blue Origin and Space Tourism, Commercial Crew and Starliner and Crew Dragon and onsite for live reporting of upcoming and recent SpaceX and ULA launches including Crew 1 & 2 & 3, ISS, Solar Orbiter, Mars 2020 Perseverance and Curiosity rovers, NRO spysats and national security missions and more at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Stay tuned here for Ken’s continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com – twitter @ken_kremer – email: ken at kenkremer.com
Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics.
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