Skip to main content

SpaceX launches two missions in one day, setting new record

SpaceX has made two launches within one day using its Falcon 9 rockets, setting a new record for the shortest interval yet between launches. On Saturday, December 18, the company launched its Turksat 5B mission from Cape Canaveral, carrying a satellite into orbit late in the evening.

Turksat 5B Mission

SpaceX livestreamed the launch, which you can watch using the video above, and was successful in catching the rocket’s first stage using one of its droneships.

Recommended Videos

“On Saturday, December 18 at 10:58 p.m. EST, Falcon 9 launched the Turksat 5B mission to geostationary transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida,” SpaceX wrote. “This was the third launch and landing of this booster, which previously supported launch of CRS-22 and Crew-3.”

SpaceX also shared clips of the launch on its Twitter account, including the liftoff, the catching of the rocket’s first stage on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship, and the deployment of the Turksat 5B satellite.

Turksat 5B is a communications satellite to be operated by the Turksat company, which will be used for both military and commercial purposes. It was placed into geostationary orbit and is expected to be in use for at least the next 15 years.

This was in addition to another Starlink launch which SpaceX performed yesterday, December 18. That mission, which launched early in the morning from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carried 52 new satellites to be added to the SpaceX Starlink constellation.

According to NASA Spaceflight, this short window between the two launches set a new record for SpaceX, with the shortest time yet between two Falcon 9 launches clocking in at 15 hours and 17 minutes. The company’s previous record had been 44 hours between Falcon 9 launches.

This isn’t all for SpaceX in the run-up to Christmas though. Next week, on Tuesday, December 21, the company will make one more Falcon 9 launch on a resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Georgina Torbet
Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…
SpaceX suggests potential cause of huge Starship explosion
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft explodes at Starbase.

SpaceX has offered an update on the massive explosion which destroyed the Starship spacecraft on a test stand on Wednesday.

The dramatic explosion took place at SpaceX’s Starbase facility near Boca Chica, Texas, during preparations for the Starship rocket’s 10th test flight, which was expected to take place in the coming weeks. No one was reported killed or injured in the incident.

Read more
SpaceX reveals new target date for private crewed launch to ISS
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket waits to launch the Ax-4 mission to the space station.

SpaceX, partnering with NASA and Axiom Space, is aiming to blast a four-person crew to orbit at 3:42 a.m. ET on Sunday, June 22.

The private Ax-4 mission was supposed to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on June 10, but inclement weather in the ascent corridor forced the mission team to call off the effort. A plan to launch 24 hours later was also ditched following the discovery of a liquid oxygen leak on the rocket.

Read more
Watch SpaceX blast a Starship engine ahead of 10th flight
SpaceX tests one of its Starship rocket engines ahead of the 10th flight test.

SpaceX has just shared a short video showing a test firing of one of its six Starship engines in preparation for the rocket’s 10th flight test.

“Single-engine static fire demonstrating an in-space burn complete as Starship prepares for our tenth flight test,” the Elon Musk-led company said in a comment accompanying the video, which was posted on X on Tuesday.

Read more