SpaceX knocked out 2nd Space Coast launch on same day as Falcon Heavy success

Following NASA's request to prioritize its Psyche mission on a Falcon Heavy launch, SpaceX promptly executed a Falcon 9 launch just a few hours later on Friday. The day commenced with the eighth ever flight of Falcon Heavy, which took off from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A at 10:19 a.m. Despite the presence of haze and clouds, the launch was successful in delivering NASA's $700 million probe, destined for a six-year journey to rendezvous with a metal-rich asteroid known as Psyche, into space.

Two out of the three boosters of Falcon Heavy successfully returned and landed at Landing Zones 1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, causing significant double sonic booms that reverberated throughout the Space Coast. Positioned between Falcon Heavy's launch pad and its booster landing zones was the Falcon 9 rocket at Canaveral's Space Launch Complex 40. This rocket had been delayed in its launch with the Starlink satellite payload due to unfavorable weather conditions since the previous Sunday. During a Psyche mission status press conference, Tim Dunn, senior launch director from NASA's Launch Services Program, expressed gratitude towards SpaceX for accommodating their request for specific setbacks. He mentioned that SpaceX had complied with their request to postpone the launch of the Starlinks earlier in the week. This delay allowed NASA's team to thoroughly review the previous launch status and gather any relevant information before committing to the Psyche launch.

After Psyche was safely launched into space, SpaceX was prepared to proceed with the launch of Falcon 9, carrying an additional 22 Starlink internet satellites. The weather conditions remained favorable for the launch, which took place eight hours and 42 minutes later. The first-stage booster, which had already completed 14 flights, was also successfully recovered and landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, located downrange in the Atlant

The Falcon Heavy launch marked the 55th successful launch from the Space Coast, while the Falcon 9 launch was the 56th, falling just one short of the record-breaking 57 launches achieved in 2022. It is noteworthy that SpaceX has been responsible for all but four of this year's orbital flights from Florida, with United Launch Alliance contributing three and Relativity Space contributing one.