Photo: SpaceX
Another successful SpaceX launch has led to another successful landing, this time for the U.S. military. For SpaceX’s 50th launch of 2022, it was a spectacular one.
SpaceX successfully landed Falcon Heavy’s side boosters on Tuesday, representing the 150th and 151st recovery of orbital-class rockets. This was the first time Falcon Heavy has launched since 2019.
Footage of the landing was shared by @SpaceX, showing the final descent of each of the boosters which took their first official spaceflight just moments prior.
The boosters landed at SpaceX’s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at its Florida site, after booster separation. The third and center boosted was expended, as it used more fuel to send its payload to orbit and thusly would not have enough propellant to make its way back for landing.
Falcon Heavy’s side boosters have landed – marking the 150th and 151st recovery of orbital class rockets pic.twitter.com/vK4ZdfDQtX
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 1, 2022
SpaceX launched the USSF-44 mission into geosynchronous Earth orbit on Tuesday morning using the Falcon boosters, taking place from launch complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The mission was a classified mission for the United States Space Force with two payloads including a large satellite and a microsatellite called TETRA-1, according to Next Spaceflight.
The TETRA-1 is expected to be the first satellite in a series of prototype GEO satellites being launched by the U.S. military.
You can watch the full launch of the USSF-44 Mission from SpaceX below, complete with an impressive landing from the Falcon Heavy rocket’s side boosters.
