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Bloomberg
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. launched its more reusable rocket for the first time, a major step forward in reducing the cost of the closely held company’s missions.
The Falcon 9 Block 5 carried Bangladesh’s first geostationary communications satellite towards orbit. It’s the latest major upgrade by SpaceX to its workhorse rocket and is built to handle at least 10 flights with limited refurbishment.
The Block 5 upgrades to Falcon 9 include more powerful engines, a stronger heat shield for the trip back through Earth’s atmosphere and new retractable landing legs. Within the next year, Chief Executive Elon Musk wants to fly the same rocket twice within a 24-hour period. Making space missions more like commercial airline flights would be dramatically cheaper—less money would be wasted discarding vehicles after one or just a handful of launches.