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The Flight
On Sunday night, August 11, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket for a record-trying 22nd time in history, putting two satellites in orbit that will offer broadband service over the Arctic.
On Sunday, at 07:02 p.m. local California time, it lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4e) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Due to Vandenberg’s coastal location, Falcon 9 needed to punch through a blanket of fog as it rose through a darkening evening sky.
Main Engine Cutoff, or MECO for short, shut down all nine M1D engines, slowing the vehicle down in preparation for stage separation.
After the stages were separated and the fairing was removed, it was time for the booster entry burn.
This time, the SpaceX crew tried to land the booster on the drone ship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean. After a successful landing burn, the booster touched down on the drone ship, making it the 22nd launch and landing for this particular booster. That equaled the company record for reusing rockets, which was set during the launch of SpaceX’s Starlink internet satellites this past June.
Meanwhile, Falcon 9’s upper stage continued on its planned route to Molniya transfer orbit. After around 42.5 minutes (after liftoff) the upper stage deployed the first…
and five minutes later, the second satellite.
The Mission
ASBM “is designed to expand broadband coverage to the Arctic region for the U.S. Space Force and Space Norway,” according to Northrop Grumman, which built the two satellites. In its mission description, Northrop Grumman wrote that the satellites carry multiple instruments “including military payloads for the U.S. and Norwegian Armed Forces, as well as commercial payload for Viasat, and a radiation monitor for the European Commission.”