SpaceX successfully launches another sixty Starlink satellites
SpaceX this morning successfully launched another 60 Starlink satellites, bringing the total number in orbit to more than 1,500.
The first stage, on its seventh flight, successfully landed on the drone ship. During SpaceX’s live stream they noted that every launch by the company this year has used a previously flown first stage. Both fairings on this flight were also reused.
The leaders in the 2021 launch race:
10 SpaceX
7 China
5 Russia
2 Rocket Lab
The U.S. now leads China 14 to 7 in the national rankings.
I have embedded SpaceX’s live stream below the fold. Because of the clear weather this was a particularly beautiful launch. The video during the landing of the first stage was especially spectacular, with the camera on the booster showing the entire landing.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
SpaceX this morning successfully launched another 60 Starlink satellites, bringing the total number in orbit to more than 1,500.
The first stage, on its seventh flight, successfully landed on the drone ship. During SpaceX’s live stream they noted that every launch by the company this year has used a previously flown first stage. Both fairings on this flight were also reused.
The leaders in the 2021 launch race:
10 SpaceX
7 China
5 Russia
2 Rocket Lab
The U.S. now leads China 14 to 7 in the national rankings.
I have embedded SpaceX’s live stream below the fold. Because of the clear weather this was a particularly beautiful launch. The video during the landing of the first stage was especially spectacular, with the camera on the booster showing the entire landing.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Watching these launches hasn’t gotten old for me, though I suppose it might be considered a good thing if it did. I’m really looking forward to the day when Starship / Super Heavy launches become as routine as airline flights. Go Elon!
A little premature. While it will probably be successful, the mission is not over yet. The satellites haven’t even deployed.
OK. *Now* it’s a successful mission. Congratulations to SpaceX.
Ten launches in 3 months! All with reused first stages.
And I think Elon has launched more satellites than any single country, ever.
Starlink working great.
I just hope he is not planning to broadcast the Sacred Cows song to mind control all of us/sarc
I think I shall never get tired of watching the Falcon 9 first stage landings on the barge or on a pad. Today’s landing was particularly fun to see the barge below the incoming first stage. They truly revolutionized the satellite / spacecraft launch business in a very short time on the aerospace scale.
Rooting for Starship and Super Heavy future flights
I wish Elon could go back in time a century with his tech. Imagine where we would be now!
A passing thought: to counter LockMart, he should build a mag-ramp as large as possible like those called for HTOHL systems. He’d never use it himself-so as to stay true to VTOVL-but he could charge rent and demand free rides.
mkent–
–once they crash the 2nd stage into nacy pelosi’s well stocked refrigerator , then the mission is officially over.