During the launch of 22 Starlink internet satellites from Florida on Friday afternoon the SpaceX rocket had to go through a last-minute abort procedure. The liftoff was aborted while the SpaceX booster, the mainstay Falcon 9 rocket that has carried operations 15 times before, was igniting its nine first-stage engines at 5:07 p.m. EDT at the space launch complex 40 pad in Cape Canaveral.
The reason behind the rare abort for SpaceX Falcon 9 still remains unclear. Similarly, when the company plans to attempt its next Starlink Mission again also remains in the dark. The launch today had a four-hour window a similar opportunity presents itself on Saturday, 15 June.
Another attempt to launch the satellite by SpaceX will completely depend on the nature of the glitch that had occurred because of which the abort procedure had to be initiated and how swiftly they are able to address that glitch. Two previous launches of the Starlink flight have been aborted due to the persisting bad weather, with the first on 12 and then another on 13 June.
The next launch will mark SpaceX’s 60th rocket launch in the year 2024 and the Falcon 9 will soar through the skies making this its 16th flight. The booster “previously launched SES-22, ispace’s HAKUTO-R MISSION 1, Amazonas-6, CRS-27, Bandwagon-1, and 10 Starlink missions,” SpaceX wrote in a mission update.
The expected land site for the Falcon 9 stage would be the SpaceX drone ship on the coast of Florida, where it will be re-utilized.
Falcon 9 The Star Of The Show
Falcon 9 boasts of a two-stage rocket which is also reusable and indigeniously designed and manufactured by SpaceX. It has the capacity to transport payload as well as people to the near earth orbit and beyond.
It is the first reusable orbital-class rocket in the world. Its reusability comes with a lot of perks as this allows SpaceX to reuse the most expensive parts of the rocket and make them fly again, which in turn brings down the cost of accessing space.
4 June 2010 marked the launch of the first Falcon 9 rocket and on 8 October 2012 it carried out its first commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
What Makes the Falcon 9 unique is that it is the only rocket certified to transport Humans to the ISS. In 2022 the Falcon 9 broke all records and became the most-launched rocket in History with a state-of-the-art safety record, with only one flight failure throughout its lifespan.
One of the most notable features of the booster is its ability to land vertically which makes it suitable for reuse. This milestone was accomplished on its 20th flight in December 2015. By June 8, 2024, SpaceX had successfully landed Falcon 9 boosters 303 times. Some individual boosters have flown up to 21 missions.
SpaceX Merlin engines power up both the stages of the rocket, also utilizing Cryogenic liquid Oxygen and RP-1 rocket-grade kerosene for propulsion
The Starlink Mega Constellation
As a part of SpaceX’s mission to build a mega constellation network that would provide high-speed internet in any spot on Earth, ten of the booster’s previous missions carried Starlink Satellites to Orbit. The constellation currently boasts 61,00 operational Starlink Satellites, as per the satellite trackers.
45 missions out of its almost 60 missions were dedicated to the launch of Starlink Satellites. SpaceX has maintained a staggering average of one rocket launch every 2.7 days this year.
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