No respite for Space A year 2023 where Space X crushed the competition in the global space launcher market.
2 mins
December 29, 2023, the Falcon Heavy rocket takes off from the Kennedy Space Center with an American military space drone on board. Space X ends 2023 with a new success.
In total, Elon Musk’s company will have carried out 97 flights into space over the past year. Largely in the lead, the star of its rockets, the Falcon 9 will have been launched 96 times, or at a breakneck pace of two launches per week. Launches mainly intended to continue the deployment of its Starlink internet satellite constellation. Space explosionsof its super heavy Starship launcher.
Read alsoBoth stages of Starship rocket explode after separation during second test mission
Elsewhere in the world, no one seems to be able to keep up with the pace imposed by Space Spacenews. This is more than three times less even for Russia: it has fired its Soyuz rocket 19 times, including 17 times, mainly with satellites for its government and military needs as well as Progress spacecraft destined for the International Space Station ( ISS), according to the specialized site Gunter’s Space Page. The Europeans are lagging behind with 3 launches carried out in 2023: the last two Ariane 5 and a Vega rocket.
And Space X doesn’t plan to stop there! “ In 2024 we want to increase the number of flights », declared the vice-president of the company which is aiming for a total of 144 space flights. This represents nearly 12 launches carried out each month.
Read alsoTwitter, Starlink, Tesla: Elon Musk’s very busy year
Another stated objective: to continue the development of Starship. The rocket aims to take NASA astronauts to the moon – during the Artemis missions. NASA with which firm works regularly by taking to the ISS, the international space station, astronauts. NASA is paying SpaceX for a shuttle service that has reduced reliance on Russia to take crews to the International Space Station. And, after the ISS and the moon, why not the planet Mars?