Celestial Bound
youtu.be/TY5Hq_5FbT0?si=gcmnc38MwIkRF9Ol
Another Space Song · Failure
As we were heading home from Carrizo I saw the bright red/pink/ orange flames of a SpaceX rocket launch and told my son to pull over so the four of us could watch. Luckily we were in a wide open agricultural area and the night was crystal clear. It's always fun to go out in the darkness and watch from home too.
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shortly after launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
It was carrying another batch of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit. You can see the first stage, nearly center of the photo after it separated, which comes back to Earth for a vertical touchdown about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. That landing occurs on the deck of the drone ship OCISLY "Of Course I Still Love You", which is stationed in the Pacific Ocean. The first stage will then be reused for future launches. Those two smaller bright spots behind the second stage are the fairings.
As I type this - March 28, 2024 - there will be a launch tonight (3/28/2024) which will be the 30th Falcon 9 flight of 2024, and the 20th dedicated to building out the Starlink megaconstellation. To date, SpaceX has lofted 6,077 Starlink satellites, 5,610 of which are currently operational, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
Those already-staggering numbers will continue to grow far into the future. SpaceX has permission to deploy 12,000 Starlink craft in LEO and has applied for approval for another 30,000 on top of that.
Celestial Bound
youtu.be/TY5Hq_5FbT0?si=gcmnc38MwIkRF9Ol
Another Space Song · Failure
As we were heading home from Carrizo I saw the bright red/pink/ orange flames of a SpaceX rocket launch and told my son to pull over so the four of us could watch. Luckily we were in a wide open agricultural area and the night was crystal clear. It's always fun to go out in the darkness and watch from home too.
--------------------------------
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket shortly after launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
It was carrying another batch of its Starlink internet satellites into orbit. You can see the first stage, nearly center of the photo after it separated, which comes back to Earth for a vertical touchdown about 8.5 minutes after liftoff. That landing occurs on the deck of the drone ship OCISLY "Of Course I Still Love You", which is stationed in the Pacific Ocean. The first stage will then be reused for future launches. Those two smaller bright spots behind the second stage are the fairings.
As I type this - March 28, 2024 - there will be a launch tonight (3/28/2024) which will be the 30th Falcon 9 flight of 2024, and the 20th dedicated to building out the Starlink megaconstellation. To date, SpaceX has lofted 6,077 Starlink satellites, 5,610 of which are currently operational, according to astrophysicist and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell.
Those already-staggering numbers will continue to grow far into the future. SpaceX has permission to deploy 12,000 Starlink craft in LEO and has applied for approval for another 30,000 on top of that.