SpaceX Sets New Record Again... Reusable Rocket Launch 3 Days Faster Than NASA

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] SpaceX, the American private space exploration company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has set another record by successfully recycling a rocket in the shortest time.

On the 20th (local time), according to space science media Space, SpaceX successfully launched the Falcon 9 rocket carrying South Korea's first dedicated military communications satellite, 'Anasis 2,' into space. SpaceX reused the Falcon 9 rocket that was used for the first private manned spacecraft 'Crew Dragon' launch on May 30 and launched it again after 51 days.

This broke NASA's space shuttle Atlantis's shortest re-launch record by 3 days, setting a new record. In 1995, Atlantis succeeded in re-launching 54 days after its first orbital flight.

On the same day, SpaceX also safely recovered the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage booster equipped with nine engines. The first stage booster fell into the Atlantic Ocean 645 km east of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station just 8 minutes after the rocket launch and landed on the drone ship JRTI (Just Read the Instructions), which uses its own propulsion. JRTI is known as the title of Musk's favorite science fiction novel.

Additionally, SpaceX deployed two ships equipped with large nets in the Atlantic Ocean to recover the Falcon 9 rocket's 'payload fairing.' The payload fairing is a smooth, shell-shaped cover that protects the spacecraft and satellites during the rocket's passage through the atmosphere. It is reused for the next launch.

After recovering the fairing, Musk posted on Twitter, "Successfully caught the fairing falling from space."

John Insprucker, the chief technical officer, said, "It was a successful mission," and added, "Today is a good day."

Since 2006, SpaceX has launched a total of 97 rockets, including the Falcon 9, and recovered the first stage booster 57 times. This has significantly reduced launch costs compared to the space shuttle.

NASA's space shuttle Atlantis required more than $1.5 billion (about 1.79 trillion KRW) to re-launch after 54 days, but the Falcon 9 rocket can be reused for about $1 million (about 1.198 billion KRW).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.