Weekly Spaceflight Update: July 6 - July 12th
It was an exciting week including launches, Starship wrapping up testing ahead of Flight 13, and the first successful catch and recovery of a Chinese rocket booster. Read it all below:
Starship Update:
On July 10, after being rolled from the production site to the pad, Booster 20 conducted a 33-engine static fire. SpaceX confirmed it was successful and full duration via their social media. The booster has since been rolled back, where it will undergo final preparations for launch. SpaceX has also announced that they are officially targeting July 16 for the thirteenth flight test of Starship. Read our previous article for a rundown of the upcoming flight.
Photo: SpaceX
Below is a recap of the launches that occurred this week:
Transporter-17 – SpaceX
On July 7 at 12:12 a.m. PDT, a Falcon 9 launched the Transporter-17 mission to orbit from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying 81 payloads to a sun-synchronous orbit. The booster supporting this mission (B1097) made its 11th flight and landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: SpaceX
Starlink Group 10-42 – SpaceX
On July 9 at 5:25 a.m. EDT, a Falcon 9 lifted off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying another batch of Starlink satellites to orbit. This mission was supported by booster B1067, making a record-breaking 36th flight, where it successfully landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo: Gavin R. For Launch Heaven Media
Demo Flight – CASC
On July 10 at 12:15 p.m. CST, CASC launched the debut flight of the Long March 10B rocket from the commercial LC-2 launch site at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in China. The first-stage booster supporting this mission made a historic landing on the Linghangzhe recovery ship out at sea, marking the first successful recovery of a Chinese rocket booster.
Photo: 空天逐梦
Starlink Group 17-48 – SpaceX
On July 10 at 8:01 p.m. PDT, a Falcon 9 took another batch of Starlink satellites to orbit from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The first stage supporting this mission (B1071) made its 35th flight and landed on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship in the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: SpaceX
