SpaceX successfully launches 53 Starlink satellites
Capitalism in space: SpaceX this morning successfully used its Falcon 9 rocket to send another 53 Starlink satellites into orbit.
The first stage completed its fifth mission, landing on the drone ship.
The leaders in the 2022 launch race:
21 SpaceX
15 China
6 Russia
3 Rocket Lab
2 ULA
The U.S. now leads China 29 to 15 in the national rankings, and the entire world combined 29 to 24.
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Capitalism in space: SpaceX this morning successfully used its Falcon 9 rocket to send another 53 Starlink satellites into orbit.
The first stage completed its fifth mission, landing on the drone ship.
The leaders in the 2022 launch race:
21 SpaceX
15 China
6 Russia
3 Rocket Lab
2 ULA
The U.S. now leads China 29 to 15 in the national rankings, and the entire world combined 29 to 24.
In order to remain completely independent and honest in my writing, I accept no sponsorships from big space companies or any political organizations. Nor do I depend on ads.
Instead, I rely entirely on the generosity of readers to keep Behind the Black running. You can either make a one time donation for whatever amount you wish, or you sign up for a monthly subscription ranging from $2 to $15 through Paypal, or $3 to $50 through Patreon, or any amount through Zelle.
The best method to donate or subscribe is by using Zelle through your internet bank account, since it charges no fees to you or I. You will need to give my name and email address (found at the bottom of the "About" page). What you donate is what I get.
To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If these electronic payment methods don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
This booster was interesting, B1052, since its first two flights were as Falcon Heavy side booster. Then three launches as standalone Falcon 9.
And it apparently slated to be turned back into a F-H side core for a launch this summer in August with its old buddy side booster that was never changed.
This does seem to suggest that the side cores are pretty much regular Falcon 9’s with minimal changes.
I get the impression there is little difference between side boosters, core boosters and stand alone F9s.
The flight profiles may be slightly different, but I am thinking that is managed with software.
Do we have data for “total mass to orbit” in addition to the launch count? Always wondered who was actually putting more stuff into space.
How about this site for tracking mass to orbit, at least for SpaceX…
Over 1.2 million kilos by SpaceX so far.
https://rocketstats.app/falcon9