SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches heaviest payload of 56 satellites
News, US January 28, 2023 1 Comment on SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches heaviest payload of 56 satellitesAmerican space company, SpaceX, has launched one of the heaviest payloads consisting of 56 Starlink satellites. SpaceX has so far deployed 3,773 Starlink satellites in outer space and plans to add thousands more in the coming years.
The liftoff of SpaceX’s 229-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket took place at pad 40 of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on January 26, 2023. The weather forecast had predicted Light rain showers an hour before liftoff, but conditions cleared sufficiently to permit the Falcon 9 to get off the ground on time.
The 56 Starlink satellites were mounted on top of the Falcon 9 rocket. The newly deployed satellites are SpaceX’s second-generation Starlink net network satellites, called Gen2. The mission was dubbed Starlink 5-2. This was the follow-up mission to the first Starlink launch that carried 54 Gen-2 Starlink satellites into space on December 28, 2022.
Starlink 5-2 mission set the record for SapceX’s Falcon 9 rocket of carrying the heaviest payload into space. According to the company sources, the 56 spacecraft totaled about more than 17.4 metric tons, or more than 1720 kilograms, breaking the record for the heaviest payload ever flown on a SpaceX rocket. The company’s engineers had to experiment with Falcon 9’s engine throttle settings, fuel efficiencies, and another minor upgrade to stretch the rocket’s lift capability for this mission.
SpaceX would eventually shift its launch of second-generation Starlink satellites launching operations to the company’s new Starship mega-rocket which is currently under construction. The new rocket would be used to deploy larger satellites that would be more capable than SpaceX’s current fleet of Starlink satellites.
The new satellites would be capable of transmitting signals directly to cell phones enhancing the network quality. But with the Starship rocket still undergoing preparations for its first orbital test flight, SpaceX is using its reliable workhorse Falcon 9 for launching the Gen-2 satellites.
Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket that can be used to transport people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond. Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket. The Falcon 9 rocket reaches the speed of sound in about one minute, then shut down its nine main engines two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff. The booster stage separated from the Falcon 9’s upper stage, then fired pulses from cold gas control thrusters and extended titanium grid fins to help steer the vehicle back into the atmosphere.
Last month, the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC) allowed SpaceX to launch up to 7,500 of its planned 29,988-spacecraft Starlink Gen2 constellation. The regulatory agency deferred a decision on the remaining satellites SpaceX proposed for Gen2. FCC has previously allowed SpaceX to launch and operate up to 12,000 Starlink satellites.
SpaceX also received regulatory approval to launch more than 7,500 Starlink satellites operating in a different V-band frequency. “Under our new license, we are now able to deploy satellites to new orbits that will add even more capacity to the network,” SpaceX wrote on its website in December 2022. “Ultimately, this enables us to add more customers and provide faster service, particularly in areas that are currently over-subscribed,” it added.
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[…] send the first human crew to the moon by NASA in 1969. In comparison, SpaceX’s most used rocket, Falcon 9, stands 70 meters […]