A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a record 143 small satellites into polar orbit on Sunday in the company’s first dedicated “rideshare” mission, responding to growing demand for low-cost access to space by smaller, non-traditional companies and institutions.
The “Transporter 1” mission also served as a reminder of the ongoing debate over what role the government should play in regulating the increasingly crowded domain of low Earth orbit, where collisions would lead to high-speed shrapnel that threaten other spacecraft.
“There are no universally accepted ‘rules of the road’ for the safety of space operations, let alone a regulatory regime for active risk management and collision avoidance,” wrote NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel in its recently released annual report. about 2020.
“As the potential for orbital collision increases with increasing congestion, it is important to recognize that risks to astronauts, critical national security capabilities and global space trade are also increasing.”
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Walking a day late Due to inclement weather, the Transporter 1 mission began with a ground-shaking roar at 10:00 a.m. ET as the Falcon 9 takes off from Cape Canaveral and strikes away on a rare southeast trajectory toward a 326-mile orbit around Earth’s poles.
After the missile was propelled from the lower atmosphere, the first stage, which was making its fifth flight, fell away and flew itself to a target landing on an off-shore drone ship southeast of Miami. It was SpaceX’s 73rd successful booster recovery and 51st at sea.
The 143 satellites atop the second stage were the most ever launched by a single rocket, eclipsing the previous 104 satellite marker set by India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in February 2017.
“Excited about offering low-cost job access to small businesses!” SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted Friday.
SpaceX charges a relatively low $ 1 million to launch a 440 pound satellite and $ 5,000 for every 2.2 pounds above that base level. The company says Transporter missions will run every four months or as needed.
Sunday’s flight featured a smorgasbord of CubeSats, nanosats, and other small spacecraft, provided by multiple companies and institutions.
The manifesto included 10 of SpaceX’s Starlink internet relay stations, bringing the total of 1,025 SuperDove Earth imaging satellites launched to date, 48 planet-built SuperDove Earth imaging satellites and a wide variety of “smallsats” dedicated to commercial applications, technology development, and science. research. and education.
Memorial spaceflight company Celestis dispatched cremains in small containers that represented 114 “participants,” including ashes of the late CBS News Radio correspondent Dave Barrett, a lifelong space enthusiast.
Rideshare flights are a recent commercial innovation that gives businesses and institutions relatively quick and affordable access to space they might not otherwise be able to get their hands on.
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But critics are concerned that the rapidly increasing number of satellites, in the absence of government regulation and control, will translate into an increased threat of potentially catastrophic collisions.
The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel called space debris “a major safety issue” and the “most important contributor to crew loss predictions calculations” for SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing Starliner astronaut ferries and Lockheed Martin’s Orion deep space capsule.
Space debris also contributes to two of the top three risks facing the International Space Station.
“The danger persists and continues to grow exponentially,” the report said. “Space is getting crowded. CubeSats and other small satellites, for example, are being launched more and more, and several companies are now deploying mega-constellations with hundreds or even thousands of satellites.”
US Space Force offers satellite tracking systems, but it is getting harder and there is no regulatory framework for active risk management and collision avoidance.
“Given the recent proliferation of non-traditional commercial space operations, including satellite maintenance, space tourism, and the deployment of large numbers of satellites to provide global Internet access, updates to existing roles and responsibilities may be appropriate,” said ASAP.
“As things stand, there are no clear powers to direct the cohesion between the many entities operating in space.”