SpaceX Launches 3 Starlink Missions At Once In 2 Days

Starlink launch using Falcon 9 (photo: X @SpaceX)

JAKARTA SpaceX, a private space company, immediately launched three Starlink satellite missions after the Falcon 9 rocket flight ban was lifted. Two of these missions were launched in less than five hours. The first Starlink mission was launched on Sunday, July 28 at 12.10 WIB, while the second mission was launched a few hours later, at 16.23 WIB to be exact. These two launches were carried out in different places and with different amounts of payload. The first launch was carried out at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida with 23 Starlinks. Meanwhile, the next launch was carried out at Vandenberg Space Force Base with 21 satellites. Prior to launching two Starlink missions on the same day, SpaceX also placed 23 Starlink satellites in low earth orbit (LEO) on Saturday, 27 July. That way, SpaceX has launched three missions in just two days. The tight schedule of launch was deliberately carried out because the Falcon 9 rocket was prohibited from flying since 11 July. This ban was issued by the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) due to anomalies in the rocket until Starlink failed to launch.

The ban on flying the Falcon 9 has been lifted after the investigation was completed. SpaceX has submitted an investigative report and the FAA said it did not find any public safety problems when the launch of the rocket failed. From the results of SpaceX's investigation, it was revealed that the second phase of the Falcon 9 rocket burning was running faster due to leaking liquid oxygen. The machine experienced excessive cooling until the engine started faster than scheduled. During the investigation, Falcon 9 did not launch Starlink for two weeks and this delay could have an impact on SpaceX's annual launch target. Therefore, the company immediately launched three missions after Falcon 9 was granted permission again.