SpaceX successfully launched its second Block 5 rocket

Update : Top of its launch window, the Falcon 9 rocket took off early Sunday at 1:50 am Eastern Time (05:50 UTC) and lofted its large payload satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. Meanwhile, the first stage of the rocket made a safe landing on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. One wonders how often we will see this nucleus fly.

Original Post : Having worked through its fleet of used Block 4 rockets, SpaceX will now fly its block 5 version of the full Falcon 9 full-time rocket. Starting at 1:50 am (5:50 pm) Sunday, SpaceX will attempt to launch the Telstar 19V satellite from the Cape Canaveral Air Station in Florida. The mission has a four-hour launch window

This will be the second launch of the new version of SpaceX's Block 5 rocket. The first made its flawless debut on May 11 and the first leg made a safe return to a drone ship, as planned. Since then, SpaceX engineers have evaluated how this core of Block 5, optimized for reusability, actually worked during this flight.

"We are going to be very rigorous in disassembling this rocket and confirming our design assumptions to be sure that it is indeed able to be reused without dismantling," said SpaceX MP Elon Musk in May, during the first flight of Block 5. "Ironically, we have to dismount it to confirm that it does not need to be dismantled."

SpaceX did not say how many new hearts of Block 5 it will build before starting to revolve these early stages. However, the company intends to fly only the first stages of the Falcon 9 rocket.

Sunday's launch is expected to be a fairly standard mission for the Falcon 9 rocket, delivering the Telstar communications satellite to the Falcon 9 rocket. Geostationary transfer orbit. After his mission, the first leg will attempt to land on the drone Of Course I Still Love You off the coast of Florida.

For those who are late tonight, the webcast should begin between 15 and 20 minutes before the launch. Weather conditions are worrisome, with thick clouds and higher level winds combining to provide a 60% chance of favorable launch conditions. However, with a four-hour launch window, there will be time to find enough time to fly. A backup window is available on Monday morning, also at 13:50 ET.