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SpaceX has once again set a new exciting record!
On Saturday, August 15, Elon Musk's company, which operates the largest satellite constellation, launched two Falcon 9 rockets just 38 minutes apart.
It marks the shortest time between orbital flights, shaving off the record set by SpaceX on August 31, 2024, with two Starlink missions, by 27 minutes.
First Falcon 9 rocket launch
The first liftoff, from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, occurred on August 15 at 9:12 p.m. EDT and carried eight satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO) for Louisiana-based telecom company Globalstar.
All eight spacecraft were deployed successfully, separating over a six-minute span beginning 56.5 minutes after liftoff.
Second Falcon 9 rocket launch
Another Falcon 9 was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California's central coast, while the first one was powering its way to LEO.
The second liftoff occurred at 9:50 a.m., kicking off a mission for the US Space Force called USSF-366.
Both of Saturday's missions featured successful rocket landings.
About SpaceX Falcon 9
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The Falcon 9 is a partially reusable, two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle designed and manufactured by SpaceX.
It is the world's first orbital-class reusable rocket, primarily engineered to significantly reduce the cost of space access.
Falcon 9 is a remarkable manufacture in the space world, with height 70 metres, diameter 3.7 metres, a mass of 549,054 kg, with the payload capacity to LEO being 22,800 kg, while for GTO its 8,300 kg.
First stage for both Falcon 9 rockets
The Falcon 9 first stage that launched the Globalstar mission came back for a touchdown at Cape Canaveral about eight minutes after launch. It was the 14th flight for that particular booster.
Meanwhile, the USSF-366 Falcon 9 first stage came back to Earth about 8.5 minutes after its launch, touching down in the Pacific Ocean on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You." That booster now has 18 missions under its belt.
Saturday's doubleheader brought the tally of Falcon 9 launches in 2026 to 96.
