SpaceX launches 2 Falcon 9 rockets just 38 minutes apart

SpaceX set a new launch record after two Falcon 9 rockets lifted off from opposite coasts of the United States just 38 minutes apart.

The rapid-fire launches took place on Saturday, with one Falcon 9 carrying eight Globalstar satellites from Florida and another launching the classified USSF-366 mission for the US Space Force from California.

The first Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 9.12 pm EDT on Saturday (6.42 am IST on Sunday). It carried eight satellites for Louisiana-based telecommunications company Globalstar into low Earth orbit.

SpaceX said all eight satellites were successfully deployed, with the spacecraft separating over a period of about six minutes beginning roughly 56.5 minutes after liftoff.

Just 38 minutes later, another Falcon 9 launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California’s central coast. The rocket lifted off at 9.50 pm EDT (7.20 am IST on Sunday), carrying the classified USSF-366 mission for the US Space Force.