SpaceX Projects A Record 52 Flight Completion In 2022

Aerospace company, SpaceX is planning to launch a record 52 flights this year alone, if the statement by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) safety panel is anything to go by. The 52-flight target if successful will have the record of the most launches the company ever had in single year, with its closest record being that of last year at 31 launches.

The figure projection was made known at the virtual meeting of NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, known as ASAP. The panel is known to give guidance to the space agency on how to maintain safety within its biggest programs.

During the meeting, Sandy Magnus, a former NASA astronaut and member of the panel, said:

“NASA and SpaceX will have to be watchful during 2022 that they’re not victims of their success. There’s an ambitious 52-launch manifest for SpaceX over the course of the year. And that’s an incredible pace.”

SpaceX, an Aerospace Manufacturer and Transportation Services and Communications Corporation headquartered in Hawthorne, California, is a major NASA partner on human spaceflight, with the company responsible for ferrying NASA’s astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station with its Crew Dragon spacecraft.

SpaceX is at the moment building a next-generation rocket system, known as Starship, a fully-reusable rocket made out of stainless steel, that is fashioned to land people on the surface of the Moon for NASA’s Artemis program.

Aside NASA, SpaceX has other organizations and firms it aligns and partner with. The company also launches satellites for other companies, international customers, including the Department of Defense, but a sizeable percentage of SpaceX’s launches for the year will be for SpaceX itself.

SpaceX is currently building Starlink, a massive satellite internet constellation that launches thousands of spacecraft into low- to medium-Earth orbit to provide broadband Internet access to the entire globe.  SpaceX has been launching these satellites in batches of roughly 50 to 60 vehicles every couple of weeks.

There is a caveat emptor to the proposed 52 flight launch: With schedules of spaceflight subject to changes, it is not guaranteed that the projected figure would be met. A precedence of such was set last year when CEO Elon Musk had projected that the company would hit 48 launches in 2021 but only ended up hitting 31 launches in total, 17 flights short of his projection.

With 28 days into 2022, Space has already launched 3 missions, with the 4^th scheduled today.

It would be admirable meeting the projected 52 flights figure but the ASAP panel of NASA was quick to preach caution as it warned of the downsides of having such a packed manifest.

Sandy Magnus gave a timely advice when he said:

 “Both NASA and SpaceX will have to ensure the appropriate attention and priority are focused on NASA missions, and that the right resources are brought to bear to maintain that pace at a safe measure.”