Utoo Radio with Other News Sources - August 11, 2024 - SpaceX has successfully launched its 22nd Falcon 9 rocket, carrying two satellites for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM).

The rocket, which was launched from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base, landed on the SpaceX drone ship about 8.5 minutes after launch.

This marks the company's 22nd launch and landing for this booster, tying its rocket-reuse record set in June during a launch of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites.

The ASBM satellites, designed to expand broadband coverage to the Arctic region for the U.S. Space Force and Space Norway, will operate in a highly elliptical orbit.

The satellites carry multiple instruments, including military payloads for the U.S. and Norwegian Armed Forces, a commercial payload for Viasat, and a radiation monitor for the European Commission.

The launch was part of a busy weekend for SpaceX, which also launched 21 Starlink satellites from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and attempted to launch another batch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center.