There is a backup launch opportunity, if necessary, on Sunday (May 16), with weather conditions improving slightly. Officials also say that sea states at the recovery zone look good. The concerns are liftoff winds and the potential for cumulus clouds. The weather outlook looks good for Saturday's liftoff, with forecasters at the 45th Weather Squadron predicting a 70% chance of favorable launch conditions. If all goes as planned, B1058 will blast off early on Saturday evening and approximately 9 minutes later, will touch down on one of SpaceX's two drone ships, named "Of Course I Still Love You." If successful, it will mark the 86th recovery of a first stage booster since the company landed its first one in December 2015. The booster also launched a communications satellite for South Korea's military, the largest payload of small satellites ever delivered to orbit, an upgraded cargo Dragon capsule, and is now set to launch its fourth Starlink mission. (Previously, NASA relied on Russia to transport its astronauts.) Strapped inside a Crew Dragon capsule, the duo blasted off a two-month mission to the International Space Station, as part of the Demo-2 test flight.Īs part of NASA's commercial crew program, their historic flight marked the return of human spaceflight from Florida's Kennedy Space Center since the end of the shuttle program in 2011. This frequent flyer, adorned with NASA's iconic worm logo, made its debut in 2020 with the launch of two NASA astronauts - Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. The star of the mission is one of SpaceX's flight leaders: a seven-time veteran Falcon 9 first stage, designated B1058. Saturday's launch marks the 119th flight overall for SpaceX's 229-foot-tall (70 meters) Falcon 9 booster. Related: SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites and lands rocket in dazzling nighttime liftoffĪ SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket B1058, carrying the South Korean military communications satellite Anasis-II, stands atop Space Launch Complex 40 of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida for a Jlaunch. However, it could be a few months before the actual service becomes available. Prospective users can pay a small deposit sign up for the service now, via the company's website. While that hasn't happened just yet, the company is working towards a commercial rollout later this year.īefore it can offer up commercial service, SpaceX has been busy putting its Starlink program through its paces as part of a now global beta-testing program called " Better than nothing beta." The company reports that more than 500,000 people have signed up for the service so far. SpaceX estimated it would need at least 1,440 satellites in its initial constellation to begin to roll out commercial service. To date, the company has launched more than 1,600 of the flat-paneled satellites into space. The service is targeted to users in rural or remote areas that have little-to-no connectivity, although anyone can use it. SpaceX created its Starlink program in hopes of providing high-speed internet access to users around the world, and as a means to help fund its deep space ambitions. (SpaceX will fly its paying customers on new boosters or those that have minimal flights.) By adding some new features that would allow the booster to better withstand the stresses of launch, the company said that each Falcon 9 would be able to fly at least 10 times with minimal refurbishment in between launches, and 100 times total.Īs the company aims to fill its burgeoning megaconstellation with thousands of broadband satellites, it will continue to push Falcon 9 to the limit, reserving the boosters with the most flights under their belts for its Starlink program. The company debuted a souped-up version of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket in 2018, with the intent to foster reusability. That flight starred one of SpaceX's fleet leaders and oldest boosters, B1051, which made its 10th launch and landing - the first in SpaceX's fleet to do so. The mission, called Starlink 27, is the third such mission to launch this month and follows SpaceX's latest record-setting flight that blasted off on Sunday (May 9). Saturday's flight is the 15th Falcon 9 mission for SpaceX so far in 2021 - all of which have flown on previously used boosters.
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