Elon Musk's SpaceX Pulls Off Stellar Feat: Hits 250 Successful Missions, Thanks To Falcon Heavy

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX launched its 250th successful mission till-date on Friday night.

What Happened: The landmark mission was launched by SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. The rocket, dubbed “scary” by Musk, launched the Hughes JUPITER 3 mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Florida on Friday at 11:04 p.m. ET.

Jupiter 3 is a satellite by Hughes Network Systems, an Echostar SATS company, aimed at providing connectivity to customers across North and South America.

“JUPITER 3 is the highest capacity, highest performing satellite we’ve ever launched. As the leading provider and inventor of satellite internet, we’re proud to herald the start of a new era of connectivity and serve more customers where cable and fiber cannot,” said EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan.

SpaceX shared several pictures of the launch and landing of the rocket celebrating the landmark.

The mission was first set to launch on Wednesday but was delayed due to a violation of abort criteria.

Why It Matters: SpaceX attempted its first launch in 2006 which failed. The first successful launch came in the second half of 2008 after two more failed attempts. In 2020, it completed 26 launches, 31 in 2021, and nearly doubled to 61 last year. 

In March this year, the company completed its 20th launch of 2023. CEO Musk then said that over 70 launches are expected for the company for the remainder of the year, pegging the total anticipated launches this year at over 90.

Musk has previously named the Falcon Heavy ‘scary’ during a review. "I love that rocket, but it’s scary. So many state changes post liftoff," Musk said.

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Image Credit – SpaceX