March 6, 2018

SpaceX racks up 50th launch of Falcon 9 rocket

by Marcia Dunn

SpaceX is marking the 50th launch of a Falcon 9 rocket, its satellite-delivery workhorse.

The latest Falcon took flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Tuesday, successfully hoisting a massive communications satellite for Spain's Hispasat corporation. The orbiting satellite is almost as big as a city bus.

No attempt was made to recover the first-stage booster. Waves offshore were too rough for a barge landing.

SpaceX has been flying the Falcon 9 since mid-2010. Fifty launches in less than eight years is a pretty good clip, by rocket standards.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk says via Twitter that he can't believe it's already been 50 launches and that just 10 years ago, the company couldn't even reach orbit with the little, original Falcon 1.

Citation: SpaceX racks up 50th launch of Falcon 9 rocket (2018, March 6) retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://phys.org/news/2018-03-spacex-racks-50th-falcon-rocket.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

SpaceX poised for 50th launch of Falcon 9 rocket

27 shares

Feedback to editors

SpaceX racks up 50th launch of Falcon 9 rocket

Managing meandering waterways in a changing world

New dataset sheds light on relationship of far-red sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence to canopy-level photosynthesis

How much trust do people have in different types of scientists?

Scientists say voluntary corporate emissions targets not enough to create real climate action

Barley plants fine-tune their root microbial communities through sugary secretions

A shortcut for drug discovery: Novel method predicts on a large scale how small molecules interact with proteins

Yeast study offers possible answer to why some species are generalists and others specialists

Cichlid fishes' curiosity promotes biodiversity: How exploratory behavior aids in ecological adaptation

Climate change could become the main driver of biodiversity decline by mid-century, analysis suggests

First-of-its-kind study shows that conservation actions are effective at halting and reversing biodiversity loss

Relevant PhysicsForums posts

Our Beautiful Universe - Photos and Videos

Solar Activity and Space Weather Update thread

'Devil' comet visible tonight 21.04.24

Waves in space

Documenting the setup of my new telescope

What did I capture?

SpaceX poised for 50th launch of Falcon 9 rocket

SpaceX poised to launch secretive Zuma mission

SpaceX delivery delayed few days; First reused rocket for NASA

SpaceX launches, lands recycled rocket

Reused rocket back in port after satellite launch by SpaceX

SpaceX launches secretive Zuma mission

Japan's moon lander wasn't built to survive a weekslong lunar night. It's still going after 3

NASA's Voyager 1 resumes sending engineering updates to Earth

Simulated microgravity affects sleep and physiological rhythms, study finds

'Tube map' around planets and moons made possible by knot theory

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter team says goodbye—for now

NASA confirms mystery object that crashed through roof of Florida home came from space station

Medical Xpress

Tech Xplore

Science X

SpaceX racks up 50th launch of Falcon 9 rocket

Managing meandering waterways in a changing world

New dataset sheds light on relationship of far-red sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence to canopy-level photosynthesis

How much trust do people have in different types of scientists?

Scientists say voluntary corporate emissions targets not enough to create real climate action

Barley plants fine-tune their root microbial communities through sugary secretions

A shortcut for drug discovery: Novel method predicts on a large scale how small molecules interact with proteins

Yeast study offers possible answer to why some species are generalists and others specialists

Cichlid fishes' curiosity promotes biodiversity: How exploratory behavior aids in ecological adaptation

Climate change could become the main driver of biodiversity decline by mid-century, analysis suggests

First-of-its-kind study shows that conservation actions are effective at halting and reversing biodiversity loss

Relevant PhysicsForums posts

Related Stories

SpaceX poised for 50th launch of Falcon 9 rocket

SpaceX poised to launch secretive Zuma mission

SpaceX delivery delayed few days; First reused rocket for NASA

SpaceX launches, lands recycled rocket

Reused rocket back in port after satellite launch by SpaceX

SpaceX launches secretive Zuma mission

Recommended for you

Japan's moon lander wasn't built to survive a weekslong lunar night. It's still going after 3

NASA's Voyager 1 resumes sending engineering updates to Earth

Simulated microgravity affects sleep and physiological rhythms, study finds

'Tube map' around planets and moons made possible by knot theory

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter team says goodbye—for now

NASA confirms mystery object that crashed through roof of Florida home came from space station

Newsletter sign up

Donate and enjoy an ad-free experience