As the year draws to a close, SpaceX has completed a double-header launch night. A Falcon 9 rocket launched the Starlink 6-36 mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Thursday at 11:01 p.m. ET (0401 UTC).
This mission is falcon heavy launchsending the X-37B military spaceplane into orbit.
The two missions were launched 2 hours, 48 minutes, 40 seconds apart, making them the first orbital launches from Florida since the March 16, 1966 launch of the Agena target vehicle and Gemini 8 (1 hour, 40 minutes, 59 seconds apart). Recorded the fastest turnaround of all time.
The booster supporting this mission had tail number B1069 and was on its 12th flight. This is his ninth time that a booster has been launched from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40). The other three launches took place from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex 39A.
It will launch SpaceX’s 24th Commercial Resupply Service (CRS-24) mission first, followed by seven Starlink missions.
Approximately eight and a half minutes after takeoff, B1069 landed on the unmanned aircraft A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas.
The mission was the first flight since the return of the Falcon 9 rocket. destroyed Stage 1 booster, tail number B1058, earlier this week. Following B1069’s first flight two years ago, SpaceX’s Kiko Donchev said he began implementing self-leveling landing legs to protect the booster upon its return to port.
I am very disappointed and sad to lose Booster 1058.
Tippy booster occurs when certain landing conditions occur that place an uneven load on the legs. Strong winds and sea conditions can cause the booster to wobble or slip, further exacerbating the strain on the legs. in… https://t.co/crDXK2yPH3
— Kiko Donchev (@TurkeyBeaver) December 26, 2023