SpaceX kick-off second Falcon 9 in weekend triple-header | Busi Knews
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On Saturday, SpaceX launched a German radar reconnaissance
satellite from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, less than 24 hours
after launching 53 Starlink satellites from Florida. The successful mission
paved the way for a third Falcon 9 launch barely 14 hours later in Florida.
If the launch of a Globalstar communications satellite on
Sunday proceeds as planned, it will be the fastest three-flight cadence for an
orbit-class rocket in modern space history, clocking in at 36 hours and 18
minutes for SpaceX's 158th, 159th, and 160th Falcon 9 missions. By the end of
the year, more than 50 releases are expected.
The Falcon 9 lifted off from fog-shrouded pad 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base northwest of Los Angeles at 10:17 a.m. EDT (7:17 a.m. local time) on Saturday. A German radar reconnaissance satellite known as Sarah 1 was perched atop the tiny rocket, the first of three intended by the Bundeswehr defense ministry to replace an aging, less-capable system.
The satellite was launched into an orbit around Earth's
poles, where it will be able to use cloud-penetrating radar to study any
location on the planet's surface, day or night, as the world rotates beneath
it.
However, SpaceX did not share any information regarding the
orbit or the performance of the Falcon 9's second stage, as is customary when
launching national security payloads. The satellite's successful deployment
from the Falcon 9 was confirmed by the German military.
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