Elon Musk‘s SpaceX on Monday launched the Transporter-8 mission with 72 spacecraft onboard the flight for future deployment, completing its 40th mission of the year.
What Happened: Falcon 9 launched SpaceX’s eighth dedicated smallsat rideshare mission from California at 2:35 p.m. PT. The flight had several spacecraft including CubeSats, MicroSats, a re-entry capsule, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying spacecraft.
“Falcon 9 launches the Transporter-8 mission, completing SpaceX's 40th mission of the year and our 200th successful recovery to date!” SpaceX wrote on Twitter.
Falcon 9 is the first orbital class rocket capable of reflight. SpaceX also tweeted a 31-second video of the rocket landing back and said that rocket reusability enables increased reliability and launch cadence. It also allows the manufacturer to re-fly the most expensive parts of the rocket, thereby reducing the cost of space access.
Why It Matters: Transporter-8 mission was SpaceX’s second launch on Monday. Earlier in the day, Falcon 9 launched 52 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Florida.
Standing at a height of 229.6 feet and boasting a diameter of 12 feet, Falcon 9 weighs approximately 1,207,920 pounds. It generates an impressive thrust of over 1.7 million pounds at sea level. Last week, a video emerged on Twitter showcasing the rocket’s phenomenal scale.
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