After a brief pause in its launch operations after the Falcon 9 tipped over and crashed on its recovery ship, SpaceX returned to launch in style by launching back to back Starlink missions from Florida and California. 2024, which has seen the firm aim at launching more than 140 flights, has also seen it aggressively focus on launches from California to bolster its manifest and build out the Starlink internet constellation.
SpaceX's launches came mere hours after the FAA confirmed in a statement that it was cleared to conduct operations while an investigation was ongoing. Crucially for SpaceX, not only did today's missions see it reuse a rocket booster for the 17th time, but they also saw the firm land both of these successfully on its recovery ships.
SpaceX Launches - And Recovers - Two Falcon 9s On Opposite US Coasts
Today's launches, which occurred at 3:43 am local time in Florida and 1:48 am local time in California, cumulatively sent 42 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). More than half of these, or 26, were of Starlink direct to cell satellites as part of SpaceX's aggressive push to capture an underserved telecommunications market by leveraging its unique place in the aerospace and satellite development industries.
They came less than 12 hours after the FAA officially confirmed that the Falcon 9 could conduct missions while the agency and SpaceX work towards investigating the reasons behind the recent Falcon 9 landing anomaly. In a statement emailed to reporters, the FAA shared that " SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation of the anomaly during the Starlink Group 8-6 mission remains open, provided all other license requirements are met."
The agency also put to rest all speculation regarding a deliberate delay in launch by adding that "SpaceX made the return to flight request on Aug. 29, and the FAA gave approval on Aug. 30."
Crucially, today's launches also continued SpaceX's trend of double digit rocket reusability. The booster that tipped over on the drone ship this week was the first that had been used 23 times, but despite this, the rocket that took off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida marked its 18th flight today. The one that flew from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base was new by SpaceX's standards, as it was flying its 9th mission.
Falcon 9's August landing anomaly was preceded by a rare failure of the second stage in space in July. This prevented SpaceX from correctly deploying its Starlink satellites; however, after today's two launches, the firm confirmed that the batch of 42 Starlink satellites launched from Florida and California had successfully deployed.
Ahead of today's launch, SpaceX also shared an update on its record setting launch for the Polaris Program. The firm outlined that it was observing weather patterns before deciding on a launch date due to the risky nature of launching humans to space without rendezvous capability in space. Polaris lead Jared Isaacman added on social media that teams will run a daily weather assessment to decide a final launch time.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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