Another day, another SpaceX launch. That’s what it’s starting to feel like, anyway.
Elon Musk’s Hawthorne, California-based aerospace company launched its 15th mission of the year on Wednesday evening from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The Falcon 9 rocket carried a commercial communications satellite for EchoStar and Luxembourg-based SES to geostationary transfer orbit.
Liftoff occurred at 6:53 p.m. Eastern time, with the satellite successfully deploying 36 minutes later.
Meanwhile, about eight minutes after launch, the first stage successfully landed on the “Of Course I Still Love You” droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
This particular booster had previously been deployed for and recovered from a resupply mission to the International Space Station in February. If the booster is still in good condition, it could be refurbished and used on a third mission.
Part of SpaceX’s strategy for cost-efficient space travel is the recovery and reuse of rocket parts where possible.
Musk recently unveiled plans to build a large BFR spaceship to travel to Mars — eventually with a crew aboard. SpaceX could also use the BFR for long-distance travel between cities on Earth.
The EchoStar 105/SES-11 mission is SpaceX’s second this week, following the successful deployment of 10 satellites for Iridium on Monday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. That launch also successfully recovered its first stage booster from a droneship in the Pacific Ocean.
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