CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – On Monday morning just after midnight, the Crew-6 astronauts returned home from six months of living on the International Space Station, and just two hours earlier, SpaceX launched another mission.
The latest Starlink launch marks its 62nd launch of 2023.
SpaceX’s previous annual record was 61 just a year ago.
“It’s been quite a busy weekend,” SpaceX director of crew mission management Benji Reed said. “And it means a lot to be able to do this and do this for the nation, and for the world, for all of our international partners.”
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
The remainder of the year could include another test flight of the most powerful rocket ever, Starship, and another mission with crew.
Jared Isaacman of the Inspiration 4 mission in 2021 will now lead Polaris Dawn — a new private spaceflight to include the first commercial spacewalk.
At the beginning of the year, Elon Musk set a goal of 100 launches in 2023.
Now, the SpaceX founder is sharing more ambitious plans.
Musk said he wants SpaceX to launch ten times in just a month with 12 launches per month starting next year.
“It’s something you wouldn’t even believe a year or two ago could actually happen except from a government space agency like China and Russia,” Dr. Ken Kremer of SpaceUpClose.com said. “They launch a lot of rockets, but not even this many. So for a private company to do it, it’s just phenomenal.”
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: