SpaceX hadn’t launched a rocket in nearly 10 days, but it got back to business from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Wednesday.
A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 shortly after 5 p.m., taking a communications satellite into orbit for the Luxembourg-based company SES. The SES 22 will target services in the U.S.
This was only the second flight of the first-stage booster supporting the mission. SpaceX once again landed on its droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch comes more than a week since SpaceX managed three liftoffs from three launch pads in less than 37 hours completing missions from Kennedy Space Center, Vandenburg Space Force Base and Canaveral from Jan. 17-19.
This launch marks the 27th launch in 26 weeks for SpaceX in 2022, on pace to surpass 52 for the year. To date, SpaceX has had 165 successful launches and managed the recovery of 127 of its boosters among both Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
This is the first of two launches scheduled from Cape Canaveral this weekend with a Thursday attempt by United Launch Alliance flying its Atlas V rocket on the USSF 12 mission carrying a missile warning satellite for the U.S. Space Force. That liftoff is slated during a 6-8 p.m. window from Space Launch Complex 41.
