SpaceX successfully launched one of its Falcon 9 rockets into space for a record ninth time on Sunday, making it the first in the company’s fleet to launch and land nine times. The falcon 9 missile was carrying a new payload of 60 Starlink satellites, which are part of the company’s efforts to provide satellite internet.
The successful launch and landing of this first-stage booster are remarkable given SpaceX’s objectives when it designed the Falcon 9 rocket. The Falcon 9 is designed to do that fly 10 times with little or no adjustments between missions. Company currently has two Falcon 9 booster missiles near the coveted 10 flights, per Space.com, closely monitoring the wear and tear that each rocket undergoes each time they take off.
The Falcon 9 rocket the company launched on Sunday also supported the launch of the Crew Dragon Demo-1 the first unmanned test flight of the Dragon spacecraft the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, or Canada’s new Earth observation satellites; the SXM-7, SirusXM’s failed satellite that aimed to support its digital radio service; and five other Starlink missions.
SpaceX has sent three batches from Starlink satellites to space in the past two weeks, 180 satellites added to the more than 1,000 it already has there. It has two more scheduled Starlink launches in March.
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Nonetheless, company officials have recently said that 10 may not be the “magic number” and that Falcon 9 missiles could potentially make more flights, SpaceNews reported Once a booster has reached the 10-flight milestone, SpaceX analyzes the booster and assesses whether it can ‘move forward’.
Like TechCrunch points missile reuse is especially important for Starlink missions as SpaceX starts ramping up its satellite Internet service. Starlink has 10,000 customers at the moment, although SpaceX recently opened preorders for the service. For a refundable deposit of $ 99, customers get a Starlink kit that includes one mountable satellite dish, wifi router and power supply. The whole kit costs $ 499 and mcurrently the service costs $ 99 per month.
It must be said that it is still unclear whether SpaceX will be able to launch enough satellites to cover the areas it needs to cover and provide reliable internet serviceIt appears it however, the company is trying.