SpaceX just tied its record for reusing rockets for the second time in less than a week.
A Falcon 9 rocket launched two Earth observation satellites for Maxar today (May 2) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 2:36 PM EDT (1836 GMT; 11:36 AM local time in California).
This was the twentieth mission of the first stage of this rocket, as it broke the record set by a Falcon 9 rocket last month and equaled it again on Saturday night (April 27).
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The Falcon 9 rocket's first stage returned safely to Earth again today, landing vertically at Vandenberg about 8.5 minutes after liftoff.
Meanwhile, the rocket's upper stage continued to carry two Maxar WorldView Legion satellites into orbit. The first spacecraft will deploy 13 minutes after launch, and the second will follow 3.5 minutes after that.
The WorldView Legion satellites were built by Maxar Space Systems and will be operated by Maxar Intelligence, both divisions of Maxar Technologies. The spacecraft that went up today are the first two of a planned network of six satellites.
“When all six WorldView Legion satellites are launched, they will double Maxar Intelligence's ability to collect 30 cm satellites [12 inches] and multispectral images,” Maxar representatives wrote in a statement Network description.
“The entire Maxar constellation of 10 electro-optical satellites will repeatedly image the fastest-changing areas on Earth every 20 to 30 minutes, from sunrise to sunset,” they added.
Today's mission, which SpaceX calls Maxar 1, is part of a busy day for Elon Musk's company. For example, it also plans to launch 23 Starlink internet satellites into orbit from Florida tonight.
Early this morning, the four astronauts on SpaceX's Crew-8 mission moved their Dragon capsule from one docking port on the International Space Station to another. This maneuver made way for Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which will launch to the orbital laboratory on May 6.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 3 p.m. ET on May 2 with news of the successful launch and landing of the rocket.
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