SpaceX launches 53 Starlink satellites, triumphs record turnaround time
This Particular Falcon 9 Booster also launched the Ax-1 mission 21 days ago.
April 29, 2022 SpaceX launches the Starlink L43 Group 4-16 (v1.5 L14) mission with 53 satellites by the Falcon 9 (“core” B1062.6) rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), The Rocket lifted off today at 21:27 UTC (5:27 p.m EDT).
SpaceX sets a new record by launching a mission with the company's quickest-ever turnaround of a pre-flown booster 'core' that just 21 days ago returned from its last flight – the launch of the Ax-1 mission to the International Space Station.
This was the sixth flight for the Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched GPS III Space Vehicle 04, GPS III Space Vehicle 05, Inspiration4, Ax-1, and now two Starlink missions.
About 8.5 minutes later, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth and landed on the SpaceX droneship Just Read The Instructions, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast.
The Droneship ferry was towed by the tug Finn Falgout and is accessed by the support vessel Bob, which will retrieve the two fairing halfs 648 km off the Cape Canaveral.
