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Space Explortion Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) launched two missions almost back to back yesterday after the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Capa Canaveral Space Force Station late night eastern time yesterday. SpaceX is aiming to conduct 100 launches of the Falcon 9 this year, and the latest launch marked the firm's 12th mission in 2023, with the previous mission also taking place from California from the Vandenberg Space Force Base.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 Soars Through The Clouds As Firm Maintains Track For 100 Launches In A Calendar Year

The two launches were for SpaceX's own Starlink satellite internet constellation and the second of the I6 satellites for British satellite communications firm Inmarsat. However, while the Starlink satellites use the much lower low Earth orbit (LEO), the Inmarsat spacecraft, which weighs 5,760 kilograms when fully fueled, is destined for geostationary orbit (GEO). This orbit is significantly higher, with a typical altitude greater than 35,000 kilometers.

Inmersat had originally planned to launch the spacecraft on SpaceX's Falon Heavy, but switched to the Falcon 9 early last year. Crucially for SpaceX, the firm also recovered the Falcon 9 today, indicating that the rocket can launch hevier missions to higher orbits while still conserving sufficient fuel for a landing. The rocket's performance brochure states that an expendable variant is capable of lifting 8,300 kilograms to a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), typically at 37,000 kilometers.

The Inmarsat satellite as it heads away from the Falcon 9 second stage. Image: SpaceX

The mission profile was similar for the Starlink launch with the I6 launch. The first stage separated from the second stage at rought the two and a half minute mark, with the I6 second stage separation taking place a couple of seconds later as shown on the live stream. However, the orbital insertion for the Inmarsat payload took place much later, at close to the half an hour mark, while for the Starlink mission the satellites were placed into the target orbit just as the Falcon 9 landed.

The booster for the Starlink mission marked its ninth mission, while the one for the I6 launch was a relatively newer rocket with just two previous flights under its belt. Both were for high value missions - one for a NASA astronaut launch and the other for the Space Force's Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite. Additionally, the Starlink batch's insertion was roughly 224 kilometers, while the I6 was higher at 268 kilometers.

SpaceX's rocket finally separated from the I6 satellite a little over half an hour post launch and at an altitude of 650 kilometers. The mission was SpaceX's 211 mission to date, and the Falcon 9 rocket's recovery market the 173rd time that the company landed and recovered a rocket back on Earth.

SpaceX still has a busy February to look forward to, with more Starlink launches and an important NASA launch. SpaceX and NASA will launch their seventh astronaut mission (Crew-6) to the ISS next week, at a time when the Space Station already has a Crew Dragon docked to it and another cargo mission also slated to launch soon after the Crew-6.