{"id":10758,"date":"2021-12-21T19:46:01","date_gmt":"2021-12-21T11:46:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-flight-sets-record-for-most-orbital-launches-from-space-coast-in-a-year\/"},"modified":"2021-12-21T19:46:01","modified_gmt":"2021-12-21T11:46:01","slug":"spacex-flight-sets-record-for-most-orbital-launches-from-space-coast-in-a-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-flight-sets-record-for-most-orbital-launches-from-space-coast-in-a-year\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX flight sets record for most orbital launches from Space Coast in a year"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A Falcon 9 rocket climbs off pad 39A at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center early Tuesday to begin SpaceX\u2019s CRS-24 resupply mission to the International Space Station. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The liftoff of a SpaceX cargo ship on the way to the International Space Station early Tuesday was the 31st and final orbital launch from Florida\u2019s Space Coast in 2021, setting a new record for the most space missions to depart from the spaceport in a calendar year.<\/p>\n

The tally includes 28 launches of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rockets from Kennedy Space Center and neighboring Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Three Atlas 5 rockets from United Launch Alliance also took off from Cape Canaveral this year.<\/p>\n

The 31 orbital launches exceeds the 30 missions that rocketed into orbit from the Space Coast last year. The record set last year broke the previous mark for the the most orbital launches from the Space Coast in a year, set in 1966 with 29 successful trips into orbit.<\/p>\n

It was also the 31st Falcon 9 launch of the year overall for SpaceX, including the 28 flights from Florida and three launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. That\u2019s a new company record for launch activity in a year, blowing past the 26 Falcon 9 missions SpaceX performed in 2020.<\/p>\n

The final launch of the year from the Florida spaceport lilted off from pad 39A at Kennedy at 5:07:08 a.m. EST (1007:08 GMT) Tuesday. After a rainy night in Central Florida, the cloud layer blanketing Cape Canaveral thinned out just enough fall within the Falcon 9\u2019s launch weather criteria.<\/p>\n

Nine Merlin 1D main engines, consuming kerosene mixed with liquid oxygen, powered the 215-foot-tall (65-meter) rocket off the pad with 1.7 million pounds of thrust.<\/p>\n

In less than 20 seconds, the Falcon 9 disappeared into a veil of clouds, leaving behind a dissipating orange glow and a rumble from its engines that gradually faded as the rocket headed downrange northeast from Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n

The rocket\u2019s first stage booster \u2014 designated B1069 \u2014 was brand new and finished its job sending SpaceX\u2019s Dragon cargo ship toward orbit about two-and-a-half minutes after liftoff.<\/p>\n

The 15-story booster jettisoned and pulsed cold gas thrusters to re-orient for re-entry back into the atmosphere, culminating in a vertical landing on SpaceX\u2019s drone ship \u201cJust Read the Instructions\u201d in the Atlantic Ocean nearly nine minutes into the mission.<\/p>\n

\"\"
SpaceX\u2019s new first stage booster on the deck of the drone ship \u201cJust Read the Instructions\u201d after landing early Tuesday. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The landing marked the 100th recovery of a Falcon booster stage. SpaceX reached the milestone Tuesday six years to the day after the first successful Falcon booster landing at Cape Canaveral on Dec. 21, 2015.<\/p>\n

The Falcon 9\u2019s second stage engine continued the mission into orbit, before cutting off and deploying the automated Dragon cargo freighter nearly 12 minutes after liftoff. The Dragon spacecraft, reused from a cargo mission to the station in June, opened its nose cone a few minutes later to reveal its docking mechanism and navigation sensors.<\/p>\n

Firings of the spacecraft\u2019s Draco thrusters will guide the Dragon on a final approach to the space station early Wednesday. An automated docking with the station\u2019s Harmony module is scheduled at 4:30 a.m. EST (0930 GMT) Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The Dragon cargo ship will deliver 6,590 pounds (2,989 kilograms) of supplies and experiments, including packaging, to the research lab\u2019s seven-person crew.<\/p>\n

The station crew is set to receive holiday gifts and a feast packed inside the Dragon spacecraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year, we do our best to send up some presents to the crew,\u201d said Joel Montalbano, NASA\u2019s space station program manager. \u201cI won\u2019t get in front of Santa Claus and tell you what\u2019s going to be sent up, but we are going have some gifts for the crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

The meal includes turkey, green beans, fruit cake, and smoked seafood.<\/p>\n

The mission is SpaceX\u2019s 24th resupply flight to the station since 2012 under multibillion-dollar contracts with NASA.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a breakdown of the cargo load:<\/p>\n

\u2022 2,468 pounds (1,119 kilograms) of science investigations
\n\u2022 2,002 pounds (908 kilograms) of unpressurized payloads
\n\u2022 852 pounds (386 kilograms) of crew supplies
\n\u2022 724 pounds (328 kilograms) of vehicle hardware
\n\u2022 400 pounds (182 kilograms) of spacewalk equipment
\n\u2022 72 pounds (33 kilograms) of computer resources<\/p>\n

The Dragon cargo ship will deliver four experimental CubeSats to the station from teams at Kennedy Space Center, Aerospace Corp., Utah State University, and Georgia Tech. The CubeSats will be robotically deployed outside the complex next year.<\/p>\n

The scientific experiments launching to the space station include an investigation from Merck Research Labs studying monoclonal antibodies. The research focus of that experiment is on analyzing the structure and behavior of a monoclonal antibody used in a drug aimed at treating cancers.<\/p>\n

Another experiment will assess the loss of immune protection in astronauts flying in space. Proctor & Gamble and NASA have partnered in another experiment to test the performance of a new fully degradable detergent named Tide Infinity, a product specifically designed for use in space.<\/p>\n

Astronauts on the space station currently wear an item of clothing several times, then discard the garment. But crews flying to the moon and Mars won\u2019t have the same supply chain of cargo missions to support them.<\/p>\n

NASA says Tide plans to use the new cleaning detergent to \u201cadvance sustainable, low-resource-use laundry solutions on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n