Space X launch is a ‘weekly event’… “Aim for 52 times this year”
5 times in January alone… Last year’s record 31 times increased by two-thirds
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Nam-seok Um = It is reported that SpaceX, an American private space company run by Elon Musk, is planning 52 space launches, which is once a week this year.
Last year, the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets were launched 31 times, setting the record for the most annual orbital launches.
According to CNBC and others on the 29th, Sandra Magnus, a member of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Board (ASAP), a supervising body of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), said in a recent meeting that SpaceX is aiming for an ‘ambitious 52nd waybill’ this year.
SpaceX has already launched the Falcon 9 rocket three times this year, and it is scheduled to launch two more rockets within this month for the launch of the Italian Earth Observation Satellite, which has been delayed due to bad weather, and the additional launch of the Starlink satellite. that is, there is
SpaceX’s orbital rocket launches (31) last year fell short of Musk’s target of 48, but accounted for one-fifth of the world’s total launches, which is similar to China’s.
Last year, a total of 26 launches were carried out.
SpaceX has established a system that can reduce launch costs and shorten the rocket preparation period by recovering and recycling the first stage propellants of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets.
Space launches cost about 60 to 90 million dollars (72.7 billion to 19 billion won) per run, but SpaceX is said to be able to lower it to less than 30 million dollars (36.3 billion won).
The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket, which put 105 small satellites into orbit earlier this year, recorded 10 launches in 20 months after it was first used in a manned test flight of the ‘Crew Dragon’ in May 2020.
Member Magnus, a former astronaut, praised SpaceX’s achievements, but emphasized that “we need to be careful this year so that neither NASA nor SpaceX become a victim of success,” said The Verge, an IT media outlet.
“NASA and SpaceX must give due attention and prioritize NASA missions, and the right resources must be allocated to safely maintain this pace,” he said.
eomns@yna.co.kr
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