One out of the two SpaceX drone ships returned from its most recent Falcon 9 launch. On the other hand, the second one headed to sea for the next launch. The two drone ships have passed each other on the East Coast. SpaceX has a plan of launching a Starlink mission ship.
It happened to happen that SpaceX’s next launch, the upcoming Starlink mission ship, was actually having a plan to leave Port Canaveral. However, a consequence of the company’s extraordinary launch cadence goal resulted in a turning point that the launch time at nearly the same time as a drone ship returning from its last launch.
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What are the surprising consequences of SpaceX’s launch goal?
The launch time of the two satellites was so perfectly matched that the converted barges of each satellite went past each other very close. The distance between these barges was very less than is just a thousand or so feet from each other and just a thousand or so feet outside the mouth of the port where both the satellites call home.
(More on SpaceX Starlink Service is now available in 32 countries Here)
(More on Elon Musk: SpaceX Successfully Launched new batch of 53 Starlink Satellite into Space)
Drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI)
Finn and JRTI are headed to Port Canaveral while Doug and ASOG are outbound to support Starlink 4-19 @SpaceOffshore pic.twitter.com/jOebP0P3fe
— Jerry Pike (@JerryPikePhoto) June 12, 2022
The first drone ship named, Drone ship Just Read The Instructions (JRTI), was returning to the port after spending a week in the sea. During the duration of its one-week stay at the sea, it is present with Falcon 9 booster B1062. The Falcon 9 booster B1062 previously has a history of launching the Nilesat-301 communications satellite successfully on June 8, into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).
On the other hand, the second drone ship named, Drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG), left the port and started its journey. The second drone ship is towed by a support ship named Doug. The second drone ship needs to travel a massive journey of about 650 kilometers or 400 miles to support the next launch of SpaceX, which is Starlink 4-19.
What is Nilesat-301?
SpaceX made many successful Starship launches previously and Nilesat-301 is SpaceX’s 23rd successful satellite launch in the year 2022. On the other hand, it was Falcon 9 B1062’s seventh launch on the whole and it is the booster’s sixth launch in a span of about 12 months. However, at the beginning of 2022, the CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk mentioned that the company has a plan of ultimately launching at least one satellite per week all around the year.
(More on SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Nilesat-301 into orbit Here)
(More on SpaceX falcon heavy rocket to launch record-breaking Echostar Communication Satellite Here)
What is SpaceX’s CEO’s plan for 2022?
The CEO of SpaceX, Elon Musk, has a huge plan of launching a total of 60 satellites or performing 1.15 launches per week once its starts getting success on every launch being done on a weekly basis. However, SpaceX also set an annual record for having successfully launched about 31 Falcons in the year 2021. On the other hand, it also has a previous record of launching 26 satellites in the year.
Now, presently, in the year 2022, SpaceX has a major goal of launching about 26 satellites only in the first half of the year.
What are the future launches related to SpaceX?
Even after having a scheduled plan of launching 26 satellites in just half a year, SpaceX has got furthermore plans to make newer launches. Reports say that SpaceX has a plan for more than five missions that are to be executed in June immediately after the launch of Nilesat-301.
Conclusion
Thus, we can say that SpaceX has a plan of launching about 28 satellites in just the first half (H1) of 2022 if there are not any delays observed during the process. The Starlink 4-19 is the 48th dedicated Satelink internet satellite. However, it will be an important mission for SpaceX for multiple reasons.
Some of the reasons include it being the 100th reuse of a Falcon booster since it was started back in March 2017.
If everything goes according to the plan, the launch will mark SpaceX’s 50th successful Falcon booster landing in a consecutive manner. On the other hand, it might also be Falcon 9s 130th successful launch campaign and is just four successes away from creating a world record. The previous world record holds 133 consecutive successes that are set by Russia’s variants of the Soyuz/R-7 rocket.