Falcon 9 Rocket Achieves New Reusability Milestone
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| SpaceX Falcon 9 Sets New Reusability Record, Faces Landing Mishap on Potential Final Flight Image credit: Space.com |
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket set a new reusability record today (Aug. 28) with its 23rd mission, marking a significant achievement for the company. The rocket launched 21 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 3:48 a.m. EDT (0748 GMT) and successfully delivered them into low Earth orbit.
This launch was the 23rd time this particular first-stage booster had been used, setting a new benchmark for SpaceX's reusability efforts.
Landing Mishap After Record-Setting Launch
Despite the successful deployment of the Starlink satellites, the Falcon 9's first-stage booster encountered issues during its landing attempt. The booster touched down on a SpaceX drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean about 8.5 minutes after liftoff, as planned, but tipped over shortly afterward.
Video footage revealed flames at the rocket's base just before it toppled, marking a rare failure in what has otherwise become a routine procedure for SpaceX. Before this incident, SpaceX had completed 267 consecutive successful landings of Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
The Legacy of Booster B1062
Booster B1062, which flew its final mission today, has a storied history. It had been involved in 16 Starlink missions and two groundbreaking crewed flights: Inspiration4, the first crewed orbital mission without professional astronauts, and Ax-1, the first all-private astronaut mission to the International Space Station.
Although SpaceX has not officially declared the booster non-operational, Inspiration4 pilot Sian Procter posted on X (formerly Twitter), acknowledging the booster’s retirement and expressing gratitude for the memories it helped create.
SpaceX Delays Another Starlink Launch to Focus on Landing Incident and Delayed Polaris Dawn Mission Due to Weather
In the wake of the landing mishap, SpaceX postponed another Starlink mission that was scheduled for launch this morning from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base. The company decided to focus on assessing the booster’s flight data and the landing incident before proceeding with further launches.
Earlier in the day, SpaceX had also planned to launch Polaris Dawn, a private astronaut mission led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, at 3:38 a.m. EDT (0738 GMT). However, this launch was scrubbed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The Polaris Dawn mission, which aims to perform the first-ever private spacewalk, has not yet been rescheduled, though it is not expected to occur before Friday, August 30, at the earliest.
Both the Starlink missions and the Polaris Dawn mission were late additions to SpaceX’s launch schedule.
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