After Mishap, SpaceX Launches Resume with Trio of Missions
- by Noozhawk
- Jul 28, 2024
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One rocket blasted off at 2:22 a.m. Sunday from Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying 21 Starlink satellites into orbit
by A Falcon 9 rocket prepares for liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base early Sunday morning to deliver 21 Starlink satellites into orbit. (SpaceX)
With three liftoffs in 28 hours from two coasts, the Falcon 9 rocket is back in the launch business — more than two weeks after glitch forced a pause.
The first SpaceX rocket launch in two weeks from Vandenberg Space Force Base occurred at 2:22 a.m. Sunday, carrying 21 Starlink satellites into orbit.
The first-stage booster, completing its 17th flight, later landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship positioned in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles south of the Central Coast.
The satellites, 13 of which have direct-to-cell capabilities, deployed as planned, SpaceX confirmed.
The launch, and two others from Florida late Friday night and Saturday, marked the first since the July 11 anomaly left 21 other Starlink satellites in an unusable orbit following liftoff from Vandenberg.
After finding and fixing the flaw pinpointed to the Falcon’s second-stage engine, SpaceX received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to resume launches.
Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX vice president of launch, praised the employees for their efforts to ready Falcon for flight.
“This collection of hard-charging individuals challenges each other, props each other up, creates top of class engineering and hardware, and most importantly comes together when things go wrong,” Dontchev wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Despite having worked at SpaceX for 14 years, it still blows my mind that we could go from a flight failure to a triple header launch weekend two weeks later.”
This weekend’s three missions delivered a total of 65 Starlink satellites into orbit as SpaceX continues to expand its constellation.
Starlink is designed to provide space-based internet services across the globe, especially in areas where land-based access remains unavailable or unreliable.
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The return of launches occurred as Vandenberg recently implemented a new launch alert messaging system to provide updates on upcoming missions and other base-related news.
The California Coastal Commission recommended launching an alert system after complaints from Ojai residents.
“With the rise in launch operations at Vandenberg, it is crucial for us to maintain clear and frequent communication with the local and regional community,” said Col. Mark Shoemaker, Space Launch Delta 30 commander.
“Our new alert system is designed to enhance transparency and keep residents informed.”
The system offers updates via text and email. To sign up for alerts, visit https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDODSFVANDENBERG/signup/41755.
The temporary hiatus for Falcon flights didn’t stop the rocket from getting new business after NASA announced SpaceX had won the contract to carry a weather satellite into space from Vandenberg.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) selected SpaceX to deliver the JPSS-4 mission with the satellite currently scheduled to launch in 2027 from Space Launch Complex-4 at Vandenberg, according to NASA.
The fixed-price contract’s value is approximately $112.7 million, which includes launch services and other mission-related costs, NASA added.
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