SpaceX completes third launch in less than two days
SpaceX successfully launched another 54 Starlink satellites today, completing the company’s third launch in less than two days.
The Falcon 9 first stage completed its 15th flight, a record, landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic.
The leaders in the 2022 launch race:
60 China
59 SpaceX
21 Russia
9 Rocket Lab
8 ULA
The U.S. now leads China 83 to 60 in the national rankings, but trails the entire world combined 92 to 83.
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
It ain’t over till it’s over, but looks like 60s in the bag. And 61 quite likely.
As of this launch, the U.S. has performed over 47% of the world’s total launches. SpaceX has performed 1/3 of the world’s launches. Those are some good numbers.
Meanwhile, paperwork has been holding him RocketLab in Virginia.
They are trying for launch tomorrow. Hoping to see them hit double digits.
175 launches so far, and I am seeing 5 more on the books before the end of the year.
If all are successful, we will end just shy of a launch every other day.
Exciting times.
BillB,
It’s even better when you look at tonnage. Dwarfs China.
According to Nextspaceflight.com if they get one more Starlink off in 2022, it will be group 5-1 which is a Falcon 9 lofted version fo Starlink2.0. Interesting.
https://nextspaceflight.com/launches/details/7035
M Puckett
I thought of that but did not have any objective source for how much mass has been lofted to orbit. Where can it be found?
The Orion capsule and it’s Delta IV upper stage that SLS orbited is a big chunk of that.
Yeah that SLS sent almost 5% of the US total. WOW.
I don;t think the second stage of any rockets is actually counted no matter how long they stay in orbit.
China would then get to count all its second stages then.