SpaceX launches another Starlink batch using new Falcon 9 first stage

SpaceX launched yet another batch of 22 Starlink satellites this morning, but it was the first time the company utilized this particular Falcon 9 first stage booster.

At roughly 9:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex in Florida. It was carrying 22 Starlink satellites.

This first stage booster took flight for the first time, equipped with tail number B1085, and returned to Earth just eight short minutes after takeoff following a successful separation. It landed on the ‘A Shortfall from Gravitas’ droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.

New Falcon 9 booster debuts by delivering 22 @Starlink satellites to orbit pic.twitter.com/pZEGPLh0Tj

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 20, 2024

This was the 80th landing that a SpaceX first stage rocket made on the droneship and the company’s 341st overall.

SpaceX confirmed that the satellites reached low-Earth orbit just under an hour after the launch.

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The reason for the use of the new first stage booster was to test for any issues. It was put through a static fire test last night, but back in July, the booster encountered a moisture intrusion when it was delivered from Texas to Florida, SpaceFlightNow said.

NASA’s Manager of the Commercial Crew Program, Steve Stich, said:

“There was some moisture that went into the fuel in the [liquid oxygen] tank of that booster when it was transported from McGregor to the Cape. The desiccant system didn’t perform the way it was supposed to. That desiccant system is supposed to keep that air dry and so, it didn’t perform the way it was supposed to. So we had to dry those tanks out and then replace a few components on the vehicle.”

B1085 will take its next mission no earlier than September 24, as it will be readied for the Crew-i launch from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral.

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