SpaceX made two successful Falcon 9 launches in a matter of hours. The rockets orbited several dozen satellites, including Starlink

SpaceX made two successful Falcon 9 launches in a matter of hours. The rockets launched several dozen satellites into orbit, including Starlink.

Here's What We Know

The aerospace company launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 51 Starlink satellites into space as part of its first orbital mission. It was the 11th successful launch since the beginning of 2023. 8 minutes and 40 seconds after liftoff, the first stage returned to Earth and landed on the unmanned platform Of Course I Still Love You in the Pacific Ocean. It was its 99th successful launch.

After about 7 more minutes all the satellites were successfully deployed in low earth orbit. The Starlink constellation already numbers 4,000 satellites.

A few hours later, SpaceX sent the Inmarsat I-6 F2 satellite into space, weighing about 5.5 tons. The launch was the 12th since the beginning of 2023 for Elon Musk's company, and SpaceX wants to make a total of 100 launches during the current year.

This mission was the 3rd successful mission for the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage. 8 minutes and 40 seconds after launch, it landed on the Just Read the Instructions unmanned pad, and about half an hour after launch, Inmarsat I-6 F2 was deployed in geostationary orbit.

Source: SpaceX