SpaceX begins its countdown to the new year with the launch of the first of three rockets at the end of 2024.
On Saturday, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying 22 of the company’s satellites. The mission was launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at 8:48 p.m., reports Space.com.
About 65 minutes later, the satellites were on their way to be deployed into low Earth orbit, as planned.
With the next two still scheduled, this was SpaceX’s 132nd Falcon launch this year.
The two launches include a commercial communications satellite mission and another batch of Starlink satellites.
“We are now targeting 134 launches — two shy of our final goal — to finish 2024 strong,” wrote Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX’s vice president of launches.
The vice president added: “Here’s to a great last two days of 2024 and an even better 2025!”
About eight minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9’s first stage returned safely to Earth on Saturday, touching down the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean.
According to the company’s mission description, this was the 16th landing of this particular booster. Moreover, twelve of its 16 flights to date have been Starlink missions.
It was SpaceX’s 88th launch of Starlink broadband Internet satellites this year, with only one failure due to an upper stage liquid oxygen leak.
“Ultimately, there’s only one number that really matters. Zero failures. Our top priority is — and will remain — safety and reliability,” Dontchev wrote.
According to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, the Starlink mega-constellation, the largest ever assembled, currently contains about 6,700 active spacecraft.