SpaceX launched two more batches of Starlink satellites on Saturday (Feb. 21), and in the process set a new rocket reuse record.
First up at 4:04 a.m. EST (0904 GMT or 1:04 a.m. PST local time), a Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Twenty-five (25) Starlink satellites (Group 17-25) were lofted part of the way into space by a booster (B1063) making its 31st flight.
Then, at 10:47 p.m. EST on Saturday (0347 GMT on Feb. 22), another Falcon 9 took flight from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. That booster (B1067) carried 28 satellites (Starlink Group 6-104) on its record-setting 33rd trip to space and back.
Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich | DART | Transporter-7 | Iridium OneWeb | SDA-0B | NROL-113 | NROL-167 | NROL-149 | NAOS | 20 Starlink missions
CRS-22 | Crew-3 | Turksat 5B | Crew-4 | CRS-25 | Eutelsat HOTBIRD 13G | O3B mPOWER | PSN SATRIA | Telkomsat Marah Putih 2 | Galileo L13 | Koreasat-6A | 20 Starlink missions
Both launches successfully reached orbit. The second mission was on track to deploy its satellites when this article went to print.
The California flight included a first stage landing on the droneship "Of Course I Still Love You" positioned in the Pacific Ocean. The first stage launched from Florida touched down on "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean.
The 53 new Starlink satellites added to SpaceX's megaconstellation of more than 9700 active broadband internet relay units. The dual missions marked the 21st and 22nd Falcon 9 launches of the year.
