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SpaceX launch from Cape Canaveral equals record

With the threat of Hurricane Idalia past, the Space Coast business of putting rockets into orbit returned with a SpaceX liftoff Thursday night that marked the company’s ninth launch of the month.

Elon Musk’s company had also planned a California launch earlier Thursday, but delayed it. Had it managed both, it would have set a company record for launches in a month as well as matched the total number of missions it flew in 2022 with four months still left in 2023.

The launch could be seen from UCF’s football stadium as the Knights kicked off their season, defeating Kent State 56-6.

Knights Win 🤝 SpaceX launch pic.twitter.com/QKNlxvqk5i

— UCF Football (@UCF_Football) September 1, 2023

 

A Falcon 9 carrying 22 of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites blasted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 10:21 p.m. having passed over the first three opportunities of the evening because of weather.

The first-stage booster flew for the seventh time and made another recovery landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic.

Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship pic.twitter.com/CTIb44T49Z

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 1, 2023

It marked launch No. 60 for the year among its Space Coast and California operations with only one more launch needed to equal the 61 launches made in 2022.

It was the 45th launch from the Space Coast this year, with all but two coming from SpaceX.

The threat of Hurricane Idalia put a hold on what would have been United Launch Alliance’s second mission of the year that had been planned for Tuesday morning.

ULA opted to roll its Atlas V that was carrying the SILENTBARKER NROL-107 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office and U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command back to the safety of ULA’s vertical integration facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

“We will work with our customers and the range to confirm our next launch attempt and a new date will be provided once it is safe to launch,” ULA posted on its website.

For SpaceX, its 61st orbital flight of the year will have to wait until at least Saturday after another delay Friday from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

That flight dubbed Tranche is the second by SpaceX for the Space Development Agency. Tranche 0 is part of SDA’s Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, a layered network of satellites in low-Earth orbit for global military communication and missile warning, indication and tracking capabilities.

The first-stage booster is making its 13th flight and will attempt a landing at Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg.

SpaceX launches 4 astronauts from 4 nations to International Space Station

In August, SpaceX had already launched eight times including the Crew-7 launch from KSC. The Canaveral launch on the last day of the month ties a record nine launches in one calendar month it had set in May.

When it hits 61 launches, it would include 58 Falcon 9 rockets and three Falcon Heavy missions, but not the lone attempt SpaceX flew of its new Starship and Super Heavy from Texas, which self destructed before reaching orbit. SpaceX is gearing up for a second attempt if it can get the OK to go from the Federal Aviation Administration.

Musk said at the year’s outset that SpaceX could see as many as 100 orbital launches for the year.