SpaceX, Elon Musk's pioneering aerospace venture, achieved a remarkable feat on March 11th by successfully deploying 46 Starlink internet satellites into low-Earth orbit within a span of just six hours.
The mission saw the lift-off of these satellites aboard SpaceX's reliable and reusable Falcon 9 rocket, utilizing Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The launch occurred in two phases, with the first batch of 23 satellites taking flight at 4:35 am Indian Standard Time.
Remarkably, this marked the 11th mission for the first-stage booster, which had previously supported various missions including Crew-5, GPS III Space Vehicle 06, and multiple Starlink missions. After approximately 8.5 minutes post-liftoff, the Falcon 9's first stage executed a flawless vertical landing on the SpaceX drone ship "Just Read the Instructions" in the Atlantic Ocean.
Following the successful deployment of the initial batch, SpaceX confirmed the completion of the deployment via Twitter. The second set of 23 Starlink satellites was launched at 9:39 am Indian Standard Time, with this being the 17th mission for the first-stage booster, having supported missions such as Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich and DART previously.
After stage separation, the first stage is scheduled to land on the droneship 'Of Course I Still Love You,' positioned in the Pacific Ocean. Notably, SpaceX's recent achievements include the launch of 23 Starlink satellites the previous week, adding to the over 5,000 already operational satellites in orbit. The company holds approval to deploy up to 12,000 satellites.
With 22 orbital missions already completed this year, SpaceX is gearing up for more launches, aiming for a total of 144 launches in 2024. This relentless pursuit of innovation and efficiency underscores SpaceX's commitment to revolutionizing space exploration and satellite deployment.
