SpaceX To Double Last Year’s Launch Numbers, Cape Canaveral Pad Repairs Planned

Despite the numerous setbacks that SpaceX had to contend with over the years, it is finally making continuous, huge strides. The private space agency is set to double its launch numbers compared to last year and it still has two months of 2017 to work with. The firm is also looking to revive the launch pad in the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, which got damaged during last year’s explosion.

SpaceX is expected to conduct up to 19 launches this year, Futurism reports. Last year, it was eight. These are feats that, in the old days, would have been worthy of raucous celebration all over the world. After all, launching rockets even once a year was a major affair. Now, Elon Musk’s company is thinking of making it even more frequent.

The 16th launch for this year will carry the Koreasat 5A satellite for a South Korean company. Once it’s done, SpaceX is scheduling several more launches, which could even total 20 if the conditions are favorable. This has made the company something of a steamroller in the private space industry, even trumping anything that any government has been able to achieve over the years.

What’s more, the closest competitions that SpaceX have are so far behind in terms of successful launches, technology, and tests that there’s hardly any risk of any of them getting ahead. The firm had to earn its place the hard way, however, with many failures that led to spectacular explosions being great examples.

Just last year, a rocket meant to carry a satellite for Facebook exploded on a launch pad in Cape Canaveral. This launch pad is set to be revived by SpaceX, according to the announcement that NASA made last week. If so, the company will have much more options with regards to launching points, which it may need once it starts launching numerous rockets in a single day.