SpaceX launches its final mission of year 2024

SpaceX commenced its countdown to the New Year with the launch of the first of three rockets scheduled to conclude the year 2024.

As reported, a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying 22 satellites from the company, lifted off on Saturday, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The launch occurred at 8:48 PM from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E), as reported by Space.com.

As planned, approximately 65 minutes later, the satellites were on course for deployment into low Earth orbit.

With two additional launches still on the agenda, this marked SpaceX’s 132nd Falcon launch of the year.

The upcoming launches include a mission for commercial communications satellites and another batch of Starlink satellites.

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“We are now aiming for 134 launches—just two short of our previous target—to conclude 2024 on a high note,” stated Kiko Dontchev, SpaceX’s vice president of launch.

He further remarked, “Here’s to an exciting final few days of 2024 and an even more promising 2025!”

Approximately eight minutes post-liftoff, the first stage of Saturday’s Falcon 9 successfully returned to Earth, landing on the droneship “Of Course I Still Love You” in the Pacific Ocean.

According to the company’s mission description, this marked the 16th landing for this specific booster. Notably, twelve of its 16 flights to date have been dedicated to Starlink missions.

With only one failure attributed to an upper stage liquid oxygen leak, this was SpaceX’s 88th launch of Starlink broadband internet satellites this year.

“Ultimately, there is only one number that truly matters: ZERO failures. Our priority is—and will continue to be—safety and reliability above all else,” wrote Dontchev.

As noted by satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, the Starlink megaconstellation, the largest ever assembled, currently comprises nearly 6,700 active spacecraft.