WASHINGTON — SpaceX resumed launches of its Falcon 9 rocket early Aug. 31 after the Federal Aviation Administration ended a brief grounding of the vehicle.
One Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 3:43 a.m. Eastern, placing 21 Starlink satellites into orbit. It was followed at 4:48 a.m. Eastern by another Falcon 9 lifting off from Vandenberg Space Force Base’s Space Launch Complex 4E, also delivering 21 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit. The 65 minutes between launches is the shortest interval yet between Falcon 9 launches.
The launches were the first by SpaceX since the Aug. 28 launch of a Falcon 9 where the booster was lost during landing on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean. While the rocket successfully placed its payload of Starlink satellites into orbit, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a halt in Falcon 9 launches later that day to investigate any public safety implications of the failed landing.
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