SpaceX orbits more Starlink satellites in its 9th launch of 2022
A long exposure of the SpaceX Starlink launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket on March 3, 2022. Credit: Theresa Cross / Spaceflight Insider
Continuing the company’s rapid-fire schedule, SpaceX launched its ninth Falcon 9 rocket in 2022, sending another batch of Starlink satellites into orbit.
Liftoff took place at 9:25 a.m. EST (14:25 UTC) March 3, 2022, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
A Falcon 9 soars into Florida’s skies to send more SpaceX Starlink satellites into orbit. Credit: Theresa Cross / Spaceflight Insider
It carried 47 satellites with a combined payload mass of 20,700 pounds (9,400 kilograms) into a circular low Earth orbit. This was the ninth of about 30 planned launches for Starlink shell 4.
SpaceX Starlink satellites launch to relatively low initial Earth orbits so that any failed satellites re-enter the atmosphere in days or months rather than the years it could take at their operational orbits.
SpaceX drone ship “Just Read the Instructions,” staged 400 miles (640 kilometers) downrange of the launch site, intercepted Falcon 9 first stage core B1060 after its 11th trip to space. It was a 43.5 day turnaround from its previous mission.
This was the drone ship’s first recovery attempt since the anomaly in December 2021 that nearly led to the loss of Falcon 9 core B1069.
The launch and landing of B1060 is the third Falcon 9 first stage to reach 11 successful orbital launches for the company.
Today’s launch is the second in fewer than 48 hours for Florida‘s Space Coast. United Launch Alliance successfully launched at Atlas V on March 1 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
According to Elon Musk, Starlink recently expanded its coverage to Ukraine, providing satellite internet service to the country in the wake of Russia’s invasion. SpaceX even sent additional terminals to the area.
Starlink — here. Thanks, @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/dZbaYqWYCf
— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) February 28, 2022
Video courtesy of SpaceX
Theresa Cross
Theresa Cross grew up on the Space Coast. It’s only natural that she would develop a passion for anything “Space” and its exploration. During these formative years, she also discovered that she possessed a talent and love for defining the unique quirks and intricacies that exist in mankind, nature, and machines. Hailing from a family of photographers—including her father and her son, Theresa herself started documenting her world through pictures at a very early age. As an adult, she now exhibits an innate photographic ability to combine what appeals to her heart and her love of technology to deliver a diversified approach to her work and artistic presentations. Theresa has a background in water chemistry, fluid dynamics, and industrial utility.
