SpaceX launches a fresh batch of 53 Starlink broadband satellites into orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was the company’s second launch of Starlink satellites in two days after a Falcon 9 placed 46 satellites into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
It was SpaceX’s sixth launch of July and 20th dedicated Starlink flight of 2022. Elon Musk’s company has launched a record 33 times since Jan. 1 with more than five months left in the year. The company has orbited just under 1,250 payloads.
SpaceX Launches
January – July 24, 2022
| Spacecraft | Satellite Type(s) | Customer(s) | Number of Launches | Satellites/ Payloads/Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starlink | Broadband | SpaceX | 20 | 1,013 |
| Transporter-3, -4, -5 | Multiple Rideshare | Multiple | 3 | 204 |
| Crew-4, Axiom-1 | Human Spaceflight | NASA, Axiom Space | 2 | 2 |
| Crew-4, Axiom-1 | Human Spaceflight | NASA, Axiom Space | –* | 8 |
| Cargo Dragon 2 | ISS Resupply | NASA | 1 | 1 |
| BeaverCube, CapSat-1, CLICK A, D3, JAGSAT, TUMnanoSat | Technology Demonstration, Education | ERAU Daytona Beach, MIT, The Weiss School, University of South Alabama, Technical University of Moldova | –^ | 6 |
| Globalstar FM15, Nilesat-301, SES-22 | Commercial Communications | Globalstar, Nilesat, SES | 3 | 3 |
| USA-328, 329, 330, 331 | Unknown | U.S. Department of Defense | —+ | 4 |
| NROL-87, Intruder 13A, Intruder 13B | Reconnaissance, Electronic Intelligence | National Reconnaissance Office | 2 | 3 |
| SARah-1 | Reconnaissance | Bundeswehr (German Military) | 1 | 1 |
| COSMO-SkyMed 2nd-generation | Earth Observation (civilian/military) | Italian Space Agency | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | 1,246 |
^ 6 CubeSats flown on Cargo Dragon 2 to be deployed from ISS
+ Secondary payloads on Globalstar FM15 launch
SpaceX has launched 1,013 Starlink satellites this year and 2,911 spacecraft overall, with 2,620 satellites still working.