You need homefries with these launch pictures?
SpaceX‘s Falcon 9 rocket livened up the breakfast hour on Wednesday (Jan. 18) with the flawless launch of a complicated GPS satellite to orbit.
Elon Musk‘s firm not too long ago released photos (opens in new tab) of the 7:24 a.m. EST (1224 GMT) liftoff, they usually’re beautiful, displaying the workhorse rocket climbing to orbit with the rising sun simply behind the Atlantic Ocean-facing pad at Cape Canaveral Area Power Station in Florida.
Mere minutes after the epic photographs have been taken, the refurbished Falcon 9 first-stage booster aced its touchdown on a drone ship at sea because the GPS III satellite soared to its switch orbit for the U.S. Space Force.
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As you may see within the full-length launch video under, the Falcon 9 first stage separated as deliberate from the higher stage at 2 minutes and 40 seconds after liftoff from Area Launch Complicated 40 at Cape Canveral.
Then, lower than 9 minutes after launch, the booster flew again to Earth for a mushy landing on the SpaceX drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas,” enabling the rocket to be recycled for future missions.
The early-morning launch was seen throughout the Area Coast of Florida and attracted views from a number of photographers based mostly within the space. Some captured it utilizing distant cameras on the pad, whereas others stationed themselves at viewing areas surrounding the launch website to {photograph} the dawn launch.
These are pictures taken by my distant cameras left on the pad a day forward of #GPS ll 6 launching this morning atop a #SpaceX #Falcon9. 📸: @theresacross_ @SpaceflightIns pic.twitter.com/ehOeCUXPCsJanuary 19, 2023
Golden Dawn Soar to Area for #SpaceX Area Power Falcon 9 launch of GPS 3 SV06 navsat at 724 AM ET quick whereas in the past from pad 40 with VAB at left. with chook flock fluttering overhead. @SpaceForceDoD @LockheedMartin. Seen from Indian River at Max Brewer Bridge pic.twitter.com/zrdY4XmvICJanuary 18, 2023
Yet another from @spacex #GPS launch this morning 🙂 #spacecoast #floridabeaches #cocoabeach @FarryFaz pic.twitter.com/yKdihimR1lJanuary 18, 2023
The launch was SpaceX’s fourth of 2023. Only a day later, the corporate went to space once more from the other coast of the US.
SpaceX despatched 51 of its Starlink web satellites to orbit on Thursday (Jan. 19) at 10:43 a.m. EST on one other Falcon 9 rocket, this one rising from California’s Vandenberg Area Power Base. The primary stage nailed the touchdown on this booster’s debut flight, on SpaceX’s different drone ship, “Of Course I Nonetheless Love You.”
Elizabeth Howell is the co-author of “Why Am I Taller (opens in new tab)?” (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a ebook about space drugs. Comply with her on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Comply with us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
