SpaceX Sets New Record with 16th Flight of Falcon 9 Rocket
In a late-night liftoff on Sunday, SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink internet satellites, setting a new record for the most flights by a SpaceX launch vehicle. The Falcon 9 rocket carried the satellites into orbit, with the first-stage booster flying for a record-breaking 16th time. This feat surpasses SpaceX’s original goal of flying reusable boosters up to 20 times.
The mission followed months of inspections and refurbishment of SpaceX’s most-flown rocket. The booster underwent a “recertification” process to prove its ability to fly as many as five more times after completing its 15th launch and landing in December last year. Sunday’s successful liftoff marked the beginning of the booster’s extended lifespan.
The Falcon 9 rocket took off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with 22 Starlink satellites onboard. The booster’s Merlin engines fired for approximately two and a half minutes, carrying the rocket to the edge of space. The booster then detached and descended toward a landing on one of SpaceX’s floating platforms northeast of the Bahamas.
An upper-stage engine ignited to propel the Starlink satellites into orbit. SpaceX confirmed the launch’s success after the satellites were deployed about an hour after liftoff. With this launch, SpaceX’s global internet network now has approximately 4,400 satellites in orbit.
SpaceX has plans to launch thousands more Starlink satellites in the coming years, further expanding the network’s capacity. Currently, the network has over 1.5 million subscribers.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, standing about 15 stories tall, successfully landed on the drone ship less than nine minutes after launch. This landing marked the 206th overall landing of an orbital class rocket, including Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions, and the 216th successful mission in a row for the Falcon rocket family.
The booster used in Sunday night’s launch, numbered B1058, made its debut in May 2020 when it carried NASA crew members Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on the Crew Dragon Demo-2 mission. Since then, the booster has launched over 800 spacecraft and payloads, along with two astronauts, making it SpaceX’s most-flown rocket.
SpaceX is in the process of certifying Falcon 9 boosters for up to 20 flights for Starlink missions, according to Bill Gerstenmaier, SpaceX’s vice president of build and flight reliability. However, launches with customer satellites may be limited to rockets with lower flight counts. NASA has only certified reused Falcon 9 boosters with five or fewer flights for its astronaut missions to the International Space Station.
The Falcon 9 rocket, known as the Block 5, was designed to be launched 10 times. However, with boosters returning in good condition after each flight, SpaceX extended the life to 15 launches and landings. The company conducted vibration testing on booster components, ensuring their durability for successful flights.
SpaceX aims to fly 100 missions in 2023, making it the launch provider with the most flights in a year. Although the availability of flight-ready rockets is not a limitation, the turnaround time for the company’s three Falcon 9 launch pads is the main factor affecting the launch rate. SpaceX’s launch sites at Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Space Force Base can support rapid missions, while NASA’s Kennedy Space Center requires up to three weeks to reconfigure the pad between Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions.