A Falcon 9 booster launches for a platter - equaling twentieth sentence . SpaceX
SpaceX flew a first - stage Falcon 9 shoplifter for the twentieth time on Saturday , equal a recordset by another Falcon 9 boosterearlier this calendar month .
reprocess region of the rocket is an intact part of SpaceX ’s flight system and has start the company to dramatically reduce the monetary value of launches . Besides the booster , SpaceX also reuses the Falcon 9 ’s Dragon spacecraft and rocket fairing .
A Falcon 9 booster launches for a record-equaling 20th time.SpaceX
Saturday ’s military mission lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:34 p.m. ET . It launched a orbiter for the European Commission ’s Galileo spheric navigation system . However , the mission use up the first - stagecoach Falcon 9 booster to a higher - than - usual reach , preventing the squad from bringing it back home for a 20th landing place .
The booster first flew in June 2020 and antecedently set up GPS III-3 , Turksat 5A , Transporter-2 , Intelsat G-33 / G-34 , Transporter-6 , Intuitive Machines IM-1 , and more than a dozen Starlink missions .
This Falcon 9 first stage has launched ~200 ballistic capsule as part of our Rideshare program , support 13@Starlinkmissions to facilitate connect multitude all around the world with high - speed , humiliated - latent period net , sent a lunar lander to the Moon , and more . In total , this Falcon delivered…pic.twitter.com/IDul5eJIum
& mdash ; SpaceX ( @SpaceX)April 28 , 2024
SpaceX also expressed thanks to those who have helped to ensure that the plugger accomplish 20 successful mission , proffer congratulation to its team of engine driver “ for all the skill , research , connectivity , and exploration you ’ve help enable with this exclusive Falcon 9 rocket . ”
The Elon Musk - lead companionship noted that the last metre that a first level was expended during a Falcon 9 missionary work was 146 flights ago in November 2022 , adding that on most Falcon 9 missions , “ enough propellent remains in the first degree after level separation to enable landing , convalescence , and ultimately , recycle on succeeding missions . ”
It also said that it ’s working toward qualifying its fleet of Falcon boosters and fairings to support 40 missions each , explaining that “ increasing Falcon ’s flight reckoning ply valuable info on repeated reuse , a critical element for making life multiplanetary with Starship , ” its next - generation rocket that in March tookits third and most successful escape testto escort .
