SpaceX puts 60 satellites into orbit despite engine failure

MARCH 18, 2020 - CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX launched 60 more of its internet satellites into orbit Wednesday despite an engine failure shortly after liftoff on a recycled rocket flying a record five times.

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket with a payload of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, March 18, 2020.AP Photo/John Raoux 

SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk said one of the nine main engines shut down prematurely during liftoff, a rare occurrence. But the satellites still made it to the proper orbit, increasing the Starlink constellation to about 360. 

"Shows value of having 9 engines! Thorough investigation needed before next mission," Musk tweeted.

It's same type of rocket — a Falcon 9 — that SpaceX will use to launch NASA astronauts as early as May. Sunday's launch attempt for these latest Starlinks was halted at the last second because of a bad engine reading.

"Last launch aborted due to slightly high power. Possibly, but not obviously, related to today," Musk said. 

This particular first-stage booster won't be flying again. Instead of landing upright on a floating offshore platform, the booster missed and slammed into the Atlantic.

SpaceX had better luck with its recycled nose cone, recovering it from the sea.

A Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket with a payload of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, March 18, 2020.AP Photo/John Raoux 

This is the sixth batch of Starlinks that SpaceX has launched in under a year. Each compact, flat-panel satellite weighs just 575 pounds (260 kilograms).

Musk envisions thousands of Starlinks providing affordable, broadband internet service to virtually every corner of the globe — a concern for astronomers. 

Astronomers fear the night will be ruined by constellations of these relatively low-orbiting satellites. SpaceX is experimenting with dark paint and, sometime soon, satellite sunshades, sort of like patio umbrellas.

A Starlink covered with dark paint rocketed into orbit in January. SpaceX officials said Wednesday there was a notable reduction in reflectivity.
The London-based OneWeb, meanwhile, plans to launch another batch of its own internet-service satellites from Kazakhstan on Saturday. This latest batch of 34 satellites will bring OneWeb's higher orbiting constellation to 74.
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