'A major success': SpaceX launch is record-breaking 58th from Cape Canaveral in a year
Rick NealeA fiery SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket bolted from the launch pad into the record books Saturday night, marking the unprecedented 58th orbital liftoff from Cape Canaveral in a single year.
And 71 days still remain until the end of 2023.
The Starlink 6-24 mission launched at 10:17 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, deploying 23 SpaceX internet-beaming satellites into low-Earth orbit.
After stage separation, the first-stage booster descended and landed aboard the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas out on the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas.
The Space Coast's 58th orbital launch shattered the 2022 all-time annual high of 57. The previous record was 31 launches in 2021.
“Breaking last year’s record launch cadence is the first chapter in this story of increasing economic activity in space, all launching from the Cape," Rob Long, the newly hired president and CEO of Space Florida, said in a statement.
"We are at a point where everything from manufacturing and energy production to logistics and tourism will happen at scale in space, making the state the undisputed global and interplanetary hub for aerospace commerce," Long said.
The nighttime liftoff from Cape Canaveral marked SpaceX’s second rocket launch of the day in the United States. At 4:23 a.m. EDT Saturday, a Falcon 9 launched 21 Starlink satellites into low-Earth orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Launch weather in Florida was "pristine" Saturday night, SpaceX officials announced via tweet 35 minutes before liftoff.
“It's a major success for NASA that they've achieved such a high launch rate at the Cape," said Phil Metzger, a planetary scientist at the University of Central Florida.
"Some number of years ago, NASA decided to transition to being a commercial spaceport, or a multi-user spaceport. And this strategy has been proven as a success beyond what people thought was possible," Metzger said.
"So it's been a real testament to the success of NASA leadership at the Kennedy Space Center," he said.
On balance, Metzger said he is excited about advances in space technology and the growth of data services from space. However, he expressed concern about negative impacts from orbital congestion.
“The Starlink launches are interesting. I have mixed feelings about them. Because these low-Earth-orbit mega-constellations are harmful to astronomy," Metzger said.
“But on the other hand, I understand that this does provide data to more people around the world, giving more people access to the internet. And that's important," he said.
"And also, I understand the long-term strategy of SpaceX is to create revenue that will fund their ambitions for building a city on Mars. I am excited to see the progress in SpaceX toward these larger ambitions," he said.
"So because of that, I have mixed feelings, nuanced feeling, about the Starlink constellation," he said.
When is the next SpaceX launch from Florida's Space Coast?
More SpaceX Starlink missions are expected to be launched soon from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but the company has yet to announce when the next mission is targeted to lift off.
For the latest schedule updates, visit floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY (for more of his stories, click here). Contact Neale at 321-242-3638 or rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1