Source: SpaceX
In less than a day after the launch of the crew to the ISS, SpaceX delivered 53 commercial satellites (including an innovative spacecraft for tracking methane emissions) and 23 Starlink satellites into orbit.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft lifted off on a Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center on Sunday night, beginning a 28-hour flight to deliver a crew of four to the International Space Station. Two more Falcon 9s launched 20 hours later.
The first, launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, delivered 53 commercial satellites into orbit as part of SpaceX’s 10th mission on flights designed to give small operators the ability to launch modest payloads and satellites at a relatively low cost. The company charges $300 thousand for launching a 110-pound (about 500 kg) payload and another $6 thousand for each additional pound.
One of the satellites launched on Monday — MethaneSAT — developed by a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund in collaboration with Google to measure methane emissions over wide areas of land and sea using a high-resolution infrared instrument.
The second Falcon 9, launched from Cape Canaveral, delivered 23 Starlink satellites into orbit, bringing the total number of SpaceX’s own satellites in orbit to 5,942.
Thus, SpaceX has launched three Falcon 9s within 20 hours and two within just 1 hour and 51 minutes, which is a new record for the California rocket manufacturer. This year, the company plans to launch more than 140 Falcon rockets.
Source: CBS News