According to Spaceflight Now, SpaceX plans to launch three Falcon 9 rocket flights in a span of about 72 hours before 2021 draws to a close. Looks like SpaceX wants to end the year with a bang.
Each of the three missions will blast off from a different orbital launch pad, with all three of SpaceX’s launch pads (Vandenberg Space Force Base, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and Kennedy Space Center) being engaged.
Earlier this month, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced that the company has started construction on a new orbital launch pad, but that one will be dedicated to its Starship spacecraft.
Assuming that all three launches successfully take place by December 31, SpaceX will have achieved a total of 31 Falcon 9 rocket launches during 2021. Musk’s space exploration and transportation company has already beat its previous record of 26 Falcon 9 launches in a calendar year.
The first of the three launches will send a batch of 52 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit (LEO) aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX announced earlier today that the static fire test for the launch had been completed.
Static fire test of Falcon 9 complete – targeting Saturday, December 18 at 1:24 a.m. PT for launch of 52 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from California.
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 17, 2021
The mission will take off from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and SpaceX is currently targeting 4:41 a.m. PST on Saturday, December 18, for the launch.
New T-0 of 4:41 a.m. PST for tomorrow morning's Falcon 9 launch of Starlink. Webcast will go live ~15 minutes before liftoff → https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 18, 2021
The other two missions will be taking off from Florida.
The first, carrying Turkey’s TÜRKSAT 5-B communications satellite, is scheduled for liftoff Saturday night from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The TÜRKSAT 5-B satellite launch was among the topics discussed during Musk’s virtual meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday.
To close out 2021, SpaceX will launch a Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station aboard one of its Falcon 9 rockets from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. The mission, which will be SpaceX’s 24th resupply flight to the ISS since 2012, is scheduled to take off at 2:06 a.m. PST on Tuesday, December 21.
All of SpaceX’s launches are live-streamed and can be viewed on their website.
