SpaceX is pushing launch technology to a new level with three successful launches in just 12 days.
For the third time in 12 days, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully took off from Earth and sent a satellite payload into orbit.
The rocket launched from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:38 p.m. EDT (2338 GMT) today (July 5). The Falcon 9 sent the Intelsat 35e satellite to a high-up geostationary transfer orbit; the craft will eventually make its way to geostationary orbit, about 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers) above Earth.
SpaceX did not attempt to land the reusable Falcon 9 first-stage booster, because the heavy payload (Intelsat 35e weighs about 13,000 lbs., or 6,000 kilograms) and high orbit required more fuel than a typical launch; as a result, the booster did not have enough fuel to make a return landing. – Space.com
SpaceX says they have a backlog of 70 missions so expect to see many more launches in the near future.
Featured image by NASA/Alan Ault [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
