SpaceX launched 21 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit on Tuesday, January 21, days after its Starship mega-rocket exploded during a test flight. The company launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 21 Starlink satellites from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:24 a.m. ET (5:24 p.m. Japan time). I launched it.
As planned, the rocket’s first stage returned to Earth about eight minutes after liftoff and landed on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. “This is the eighth flight of the first stage booster supporting this mission, having previously launched Crew-8, Polaris Dawn, CRS-31, Astranis: From One to Many, and now four Starlink missions. ” SpaceX said in the mission. explanation.
The rocket’s upper stage will carry 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, where they will be deployed approximately 65 minutes after liftoff. This launch marks Falcon 9’s ninth mission and SpaceX’s 10th launch this year overall.
The other mission was the seventh ever test flight of SpaceX’s Starship megarocket. The rocket launched from South Texas on January 16 and exploded in space minutes later. Controllers made contact with the newly upgraded Starship, which was carrying the mock satellite’s first test payload but had no crew, eight minutes after liftoff from a South Texas rocket facility at 5:38 p.m. lost.
“All communication with the ship was lost, which essentially means there was something wrong with the upper stage,” SpaceX communications manager Dan Huot said, adding that the ship disappeared minutes later. I admitted that I was hurt.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has chosen to maintain a positive outlook despite the setback. He shared a video of the explosion with X and wrote, “Success is uncertain but entertainment is guaranteed!”
Musk later said the explosion was likely caused by a propellant leak. “Preliminary indications are that there was an oxygen and fuel leak in the cavity above the firewall of the marine engine. It was large enough to build up pressure beyond the capacity of the vent. There was an obvious leak. Apart from double-checking, we’re also going to add fire suppression to that.”The volume will also increase and probably the vent area will also increase. “So far, there is nothing to suggest that the next launch will be after next month,” he said.
(Photo provided by: X/SpaceX)
