The Falcon 9 rocket of SpaceX launched the satellite of image military SARah 1 of Germany in orbit the 18 June.Picture: SpaceX
It was a busy weekend for SpaceX, with the private space company launching three of its Falcon 9 rockets into orbit over a three-day period. The final launch of SpaceX may even have carried a classified government payload in addition to launching a spare satellite for low-Earth orbit operator Globalstar.
Consecutive launches began Friday from the Kennedy Space Center’s 39A launch complex, where a Falcon 9 rocket took 53 StarLink satellites into orbit as part of the growing mega-constellation of broadband Internet. company. Reinforcement of the first stage of the rocket set a new record for SpaceX, marking the 13th flight and landing of the reusable reinforcement.
The next day, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launched a radar imaging satellite for the German Army. SaRah-1, built by Airbus, was launched from the 4E space launch complex at the Vandenberg space force base in California to replace the existing SAR-Lupe system. The satellite is designed to provide images of the Earth’s surface at any time of the day, regardless of weather conditions.
On Sunday, SpaceX made its final launch of the weekend. His third Falcon 9 rocket took off from the 40th space launch complex at the Cape Canaveral space force station in Florida. The company identified a payload to the rocket, Globalstar FM15, a spare satellite for the low-speed telephony data communications company Globalstar.
However, several reports suggest that this lone satellite was not the only one to reach low Earth orbit. Those who watched the launch and deployment of the Globalstar payload noticed that the rocket had three unusual burns and landed on the unmanned spacecraft of the autonomous spaceport, which is used when the rocket carries heavier payloads. although the payload of Globalstar would have been light enough for that. to re-land on the launch pad, according to SpaceNews.
In addition, SpaceX provided a video of the deployment of the payload into orbit, which showed that it had been deployed almost two hours after takeoff. The video showed what could have been a payload adapter in the second stage of the rocket, suggesting that the rocket may have deployed another payload after its first burn. Mysterious circumstances gave credence to rumors suggesting that SpaceX had launched a US government-rated payload. SpaceX did not confirm the second payload and did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
Sunday’s launch marked the 26th launch of SpaceX in 2022, and the company plans to grow even bigger for the rest of the year. After approving an environmental assessment by the Federal Aviation Administration for a proposed site expansion in Boca Chica, Texas, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that the Starship heavy rocket would be ready for its first orbital launch in July. Musk expects Starship to carry the company’s next-generation StarLink satellites into orbit, prompting some astronomers to worry about their potential interference with space observations. SpaceX has also recently fired several employees for criticizing Musk’s behavior.