Enlarge / This batch of Starlink missions will launch with a used rocket fairing.SpaceX

In launching its next batch of Starlink satellites—the company's sixth batch of 60 operational spacecraft—SpaceX plans to continue to push the bounds of reuse. With this mission, for the first time, the company plans to fly the same Falcon 9 first stage for the fifth time.

After completing a static fire test of its Falcon 9 rocket's first stage on Friday, the company is now targeting Sunday at 9:22am ET (13:22 UTC) for the mission from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center. The weather is expected to be favorable, with only a 10 percent chance of poor conditions due to too many cumulus clouds.

SpaceX also announced on Friday that it will reuse the rocket's payload fairing, which previously flew on a Starlink mission in May 2019. This means that the only part of the Falcon 9 rocket not being recycled is its second stage, which is powered by a single Merlin vacuum engine and pushes the satellites from the edge of space to their deployment into an orbit more than 200km above the ground.

This particular first stage flew its first mission in July 2018, when it lofted a batch of Iridium satellites into orbit. It launched its next mission, an Earth observation satellite for Argentina, less than three months later. Overall, this first stage has averaged four months between flights.

Since introducing the final iteration of its Falcon 9 rocket, dubbed Block 5, SpaceX has been working to turn around the first stages faster. The company believes it can recycle first-stage rockets—from landing to reuse—within about 30 days. (So far, it has managed to re-fly a first stage about two months after landing). After each flight, a maintenance team still opens up the rocket to inspect its joints for leaks, ensure the reliability of the avionics, inspect welds, and more. The company's engiRead More – Source

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