SpaceX launches another 22 Starlink satellites, using a first stage flying for the 16th time
SpaceX today successfully launched another 22 Starlink satellites, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canavera with a first stage flying for the 16th time.
The first stage successfully landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic. By my count SpaceX now has two stages that have flown seventeen times, and one that has flown sixteen times. While not there yet, its fleet of first stages is getting close to accumulating more flights than NASA’s space shuttle fleet.
The leaders in 2023 launch race:
74 SpaceX
46 China
13 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise now leads China in successfully launches 86 to 46, and the entire world combined 86 to 74. SpaceX by itself is once again tied with the entire world combined (excluding American companies) 74 to 74, with another launch scheduled for late tomorrow.
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. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit.
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 today successfully launched another 22 Starlink satellites, its Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canavera with a first stage flying for the 16th time.
The first stage successfully landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic. By my count SpaceX now has two stages that have flown seventeen times, and one that has flown sixteen times. While not there yet, its fleet of first stages is getting close to accumulating more flights than NASA’s space shuttle fleet.
The leaders in 2023 launch race:
74 SpaceX
46 China
13 Russia
7 Rocket Lab
7 India
American private enterprise now leads China in successfully launches 86 to 46, and the entire world combined 86 to 74. SpaceX by itself is once again tied with the entire world combined (excluding American companies) 74 to 74, with another launch scheduled for late tomorrow.
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. from any other book seller, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. 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
“”” While not there yet, its fleet of first stages is getting close to accumulating more flights than NASA’s space shuttle fleet.””””
I thought the Shuttles totaled 135 flights with SpaceX first stages reused somewhere around 200. What is the actual target?
So according to Wikipedia, missions per orbiter:
Atlantis: 44
Columbia: 28
Challenger: 10
Discovery: 39
Endeavor: 25
So SpaceX has a little ways to go per booster.
In terms of the fleet of boosters available a user on Reddit, rykllan has been doing really nice infographics to help capture of lot of data in one image.
https://www.reddit.com/user/rykllan/ (for his? her? its?) latest posts.
Oct 5th fleet images are in this post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1712ffl/postlaunch_infographics_as_of_oct_5_2023/
Very nicely embeds a lot of info in simple images.
It looks like the Vandenberg SpaceX launch is postponed two days. Now Friday night (local time). I hope we get clear skies for good viewing this time.