With its first expected mission for 2020 to launch on Jan. 6, SpaceX is doing its final testing for the Falcon 9 rocket. The company did a static-fire test of the rocket on Saturday, Jan. 4, ahead of its launch. The Falcon 9 rocket is to be launched at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The rocket's mission is to send 60 Starlink internet satellites into orbit. The mission, named Starlink 2, aims to send 60 of Starlink's satellites into orbit, further progressing Elon Musk's mission of providing worldwide satellite internet access.
Starlink 2 is planned for liftoff on Monday, 9:19 p.m. EST.
Pre-Launch Procedures
The Falcon 9 Rocket, designated B1049, was released from its hangar last Friday, where it was set up in its launch pad ahead of its planned test firing for Saturday. The rocket went through a rehearsal, where its prelaunch procedures and engines were tested before actual liftoff. The engines were loaded with kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants.
The engine did a brief test-fire of its Merlin 1D rockets around 12 p.m. EST, where it generated more than a million pounds of thrust. The rocket, however, was held firmly in the ground as the prelaunch procedures required the rocket not to take off into orbit. SpaceX engineers use these pretest procedures to observe the rocket's mechanics and see and point out any problems that can cause the mission to fail.
SpaceX sent out a tweet regarding the success of the static test fire. "Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete-targeting Monday, Jan. 6 at 9:19 p.m. EST for the launch of 60 Starlink satellites from Pad 40 in Florida," the tweet says.
Pre-loved rocketry
The rocket B1049 was previously used in three different missions. Its first mission was back on September 10, 2018, where it launched Telstar 18V, a communication satellite owned by Canadian company Telesat. Its second mission was just a few months later on January 11, 2019, where it launched Iridium-NEXT 8, a satellite owned by Iridium Communications.
B1049 would also be the first Falcon 9 rocket to launch for 2 Starlink missions. Its first mission for Starlink was Starlink 0, where it launched test satellites which tested the viability of the Starlink project on May 24, 2019.
Space History in the making
Monday's launch is set to be an important date for both SpaceX and the United States. It will be SpaceX's second set of Starlink's satellites, which will test the viability of sending multiple satellites into space in succession. Rocket launches are usually separated by months, and SpaceX's multiple launches in the span of a month will test the company's ability to do multiple missions at once.
The launch will also be Cape Canaveral's first rocket launch of the year. It is also the first launch of the newly established U.S Space Force, the sixth branch of the military. The bill which established the Space Force was signed back on December 20, 2019 creating a new branch under the supervision of the Department of the Air Force. General John W. Raymond serves as the Space Force's first Chief of Space Operation
