In rapid turnaround, SpaceX launches and lands Falcon 9

Emre Kelly
Florida Today

Update:

Launch and landing of Falcon 9! SpaceX successfully launched its second mission in as many days from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, breaking its record for time between missions. The first stage landed on the "Just Read the Instructions" drone ship in the Pacific Ocean.

Original story:

SpaceX today will attempt to pull off its quickest turnaround between two missions when it launches a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Just two days after a previously flown Falcon 9 launched from Kennedy Space Center with the BulgariaSat-1 communications satellite and landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean, teams will attempt to vault an identical rocket from the West Coast with 10 Iridium NEXT satellites. The 4:25 p.m. Eastern time mission will attempt a drone ship landing, also marking the shortest time between two landing attempts for SpaceX.

Friday's BulgariaSat-1 mission from KSC successfully delivered the country's first geostationary satellite to its intended orbit after a 3:10 p.m. launch from pad 39A. It landed on the East Coast drone ship, named "Of Course I Still Love You," about eight-and-a-half minutes later and should arrive at Port Canaveral by next week.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on the pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base ahead of the Iridium-2 launch attempt.

[SpaceX bets the house to become satellite internet provider]

[SpaceX launches satellite from KSC on used Falcon 9]

On the West Coast, weather won't be an issue for today's attempt – an update from Vandenberg described conditions as 100 percent "go." The West Coast drone ship, known as "Just Read the Instructions," will play host for the landing attempt.

SpaceX staffs independent launch teams on both coasts, but personnel can remotely support missions without having to travel. Teams in California, for example, were on console to support Friday's launch from KSC, and the reverse will be true for today's launch.

SpaceX is targeting no earlier than July 4 for its next Falcon 9 launch from Kennedy Space Center with an Intelsat communications satellite, though the date has not yet been confirmed. There will, however, be no landing attempt due to the amount of fuel needed to deliver the satellite to orbit.

Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com or 321-242-3715. Follow him on Twitter at @EmreKelly and on Facebook at Emre Kelly.