SpaceX
Watch doubleheader SpaceX Falcon 9 missions from January 28, 2024
Space rocket company SpaceX launched doubleheader Falcon 9 rockets with a new fleet of Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit on January 28, 2024.
The first mission liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 8:10 p.m. ET. The rocket payload carried 23 Starlink satellites to the orbit.
The first stage booster used in this flight completed its 18th flight as it previously supported GPS III Space Vehicle 04, Space Vehicle 05, Inspriation4, Ax-1, Nilesat, 301, OneWeb Launch 17, and 10 other Starlink missions.
Following the hot staging, the booster landed on a droneship. The satellite deployment was confirmed around 1 hour after the mission.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship pic.twitter.com/h0XF8tyFf5
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 29, 2024
Second Mission:
Within four hours, SpaceX kicked off another mission from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The flight departed from the launch pad at 9:57 p.m. PT and reached supersonic in a few minutes.
A flash of color and liftoff of Falcon 9! pic.twitter.com/VNDcFcvy4y
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 29, 2024
The first stage landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You droneship” at 8:25 minutes from the liftoff. With this mission, the booster completed its ninth flight as it previously participated in SDA-0A, SARah-2, and now seven Starlink missions.
Falcon 9 first stage landing on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, completing this booster’s ninth mission pic.twitter.com/y5kToKzOYt
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 29, 2024
The second stage led the 22 Starlink satellites into orbit and the mission control center announced deployment at 60 minutes of the mission.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Liftoff (Source – Falcon 9)
Reusability:
With these back-to-back launches, SpaceX showcased the massive Reusability of its unique rocket technologies. It is a major factor for space rocket firms to reduce expenses for each rocket launch.
For now, SpaceX is the only company with maximum reusable rocket capability and the highest efficiency in missions.
Last year, SpaceX launched 96 missions and the company plans to increase the number by 50% at up to 150 flights in 2024. These two new launches now add to the 9 overall missions for the first month.