SpaceX's rocket launch aimed to break 56-yr record, but failed

SAN FRANCISCO: With a Falcon 9 rocket and then a Falcon Heavy rocket planned as little as 45 minutes apart, SpaceX almost broke a 56-year rocket record.

However, Falcon Heavy launch was scrubbed barely a minute before launch.

According to Space Launch Delta 45, the unit of the US Space Force, the pair of SpaceX launches would have broken a record set by the Gemini 11 mission in September 1966.

“SLD 45 has the opportunity to make history tonight, as we support two launches between 02:04 UTC and 04:44 UTC. This could represent the shortest time between launches from the ER on record. The previous was 1 hour 37 minutes on Sept. 12, 1966 when Gemini 11 & Titan-11 launched,” Space Launch Delta 45 wrote on Twitter.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket was first targeted to carry Hughes Network Systems’ ultra high-density satellite Jupiter 3 at 11:04 p.m. ET Wednesday (8:34 am IST, Thursday) from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

After being scrubbed barely a minute before liftoff, another planned attempt on Thursday night (Friday in IST) was also nixed, citing “complete vehicle checkouts”. SpaceX now targets Friday at 11:04 p.m. EDT (8:34 am on Saturday).

Jupiter 3, which is the world's largest private communications satellite, will double the capacity of the Hughes Jupiter satellite fleet. It will also support in-flight Wi-Fi, maritime connections, enterprise networks, backhaul for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and Community Wi-Fi solutions, in addition to satellite internet connectivity across North and South America.

Meanwhile, Falcon 9 on Friday successfully launched 22 Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida at 12:01 a.m. ET (9:31 am IST)

“Deployment of 22 @Starlink satellites confirmed,” the company said on Twitter, adding that the feat is “SpaceX’s 50th mission of 2023”.