SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites using Falcon 9
Using a Falcon 9 rocket with a first stage making its 15th flight, SpaceX early this morning launched 21 Starlink satellites, lifting off from Vandenberg in California.
The first stage landed successfully on a drone ship in the Pacific. SpaceX now has two first stages that have flown 16 times, and one that has flown 15 times. Those 47 flights like reduced the launch cost of those launches by about 70%. Since no other rocket company can do this, SpaceX can pocket the profits since it isn’t forced to lower prices as much as it would if it had some real competition.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
57 SpaceX
36 China
11 Russia
6 Rocket Lab
6 India
In the national rankings, American private enterprise now leads China in successful launches 65 to 36. It also leads the entire world combined, 65 to 58. SpaceX by itself remains in a neck-in-neck race with the rest of the world (excluding American companies), trailing 57 to 58 in successful launches.
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In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
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Using a Falcon 9 rocket with a first stage making its 15th flight, SpaceX early this morning launched 21 Starlink satellites, lifting off from Vandenberg in California.
The first stage landed successfully on a drone ship in the Pacific. SpaceX now has two first stages that have flown 16 times, and one that has flown 15 times. Those 47 flights like reduced the launch cost of those launches by about 70%. Since no other rocket company can do this, SpaceX can pocket the profits since it isn’t forced to lower prices as much as it would if it had some real competition.
The leaders in the 2023 launch race:
57 SpaceX
36 China
11 Russia
6 Rocket Lab
6 India
In the national rankings, American private enterprise now leads China in successful launches 65 to 36. It also leads the entire world combined, 65 to 58. SpaceX by itself remains in a neck-in-neck race with the rest of the world (excluding American companies), trailing 57 to 58 in successful launches.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Strangely, there was no host, just a few Mission Control voices, which was more than adequate for viewers like me, and I’m sure most others here. On the other hand, SpaceX has a few very engaging hosts, like Kate Tice, who could be highly entertaining just reading a phone book. For those who remember what that was…
Ray Van Dune: I noticed the lack of announcer as well, and attributed it to the late hour the launch took place. The original launch time got delayed two hours, and I suspect that they decided there was no reason for that SpaceX employee to stick around.
I also suspect they might be thinking of eliminating the announcer entirely. The people doing it appear to be others at SpaceX who do it for fun (and probably a small pay bonus as well). Unless the launch is unique or important, having an announcer simply repeating what the launch crew is saying is likely unnecessary.
SpaceX could certainly eliminate the webcast emcees for Starlink launches. The script for these is entirely boilerplate with just a few specific stats to separate one such launch from another. Anyone who has watched a few of these can pretty much recite the script along with the presenter. The number of satellites launched, the number of missions for the booster and fairing halves, the name of the drone ship being landed upon, the name of the fairing recovery vessel deployed and the updated figures for successful booster landings and total SpaceX missions could be provided in an on-screen text box.
But SpaceX will retain emcees for the much longer webcasts attending customer missions as these are often unique. The customers get to write part of the script and also include promo videos about the payload and/or the customer organization that is buying the launch. All NASA missions will also continue to have SpaceX co-hosts partnered with NASA Public Affairs people if for no other reason than to somewhat moderate the otherwise excessively chirpy gee-whiz boosterism of the latter.
Kate Tice is now well up in SpaceX’s middle management cadre so her stints as a launch webcast emcee have dwindled to mainly the most high-profile missions. She has always been a natural “on-air” presence, the camera loves her and there are legions of long-time admirers – among which I very much count myself – who would happily watch extended coverage of Ms. Tice simply sitting in a chair and breathing. I suspect her next co-hosting gig is likely to be the upcoming Crew-7 launch webcast. After that, she will likely next be back for the Psyche mission launch in Oct.
I’d love to see more John Insprucker, but I suppose he is the same problem as Kate Tice: An important guy that’s harder to justify using his scarce tome to emcee less important launches that are happening basically twice a week now.
But pretty good odds we will see one or both in action for the Psyche launch in October, and probably also for the next Starship test launch, too.