SpaceX may be dealing with an internal staff crisis, but the Elon Musk-led company is still delivering and setting records.
The space exploration company recently pulled off three launches in just 36 hours and 18 minutes.
The launch spree put 55 satellites in orbit.
The first launch in the trio involved a Falcon 9 taking off from pad 39A at the legendary Kennedy Space Center, carrying a batch of Starlink satellites. The recent haul brings the number of Starlink satellites launched to 2,706 as SpaceX tries to expand its satellite internet business to cover more territories.
Less than 24 hours later, another Falcon 9 rocket blasted SARah 1, a German radar reconnaissance satellite to polar orbit. The launch took place at the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The final launch was the Globalstar communication satellite which took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station using pad 40. Another Falcon 9 was on duty. The first stage of the partially reusable rocket separated about two and a half minutes into the flight for an offshore landing on SpaceX’s droneship. Two hours later, the second stage reached the targeted orbit.
The last satellite, the FM15, is used by Globalstar to provide voice and data services globally. It was built as a spare a decade ago, but the company is now putting it into service to shore up its network capacity.
Altogether, the Falcon 9 rocket has notched 160 flights. SpaceX is expected to have completed more than 50 launches by the end of 2022.
Musk took to Twitter to congratulate the Falcon team for pulling off the record flights. SpaceX had another three-launch volley earlier this year, although it took more days.
