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| SpaceX launches 88 satellites into space |
SpaceX's new mission has sent dozens of satellites into space, bringing the total number of satellites launched by Elon Musk's airlines to nearly 900 this year.
The reused Falcon 9 rocket launched 88 satellites for the Transporter-2 mission, including the Pentagon's first five new satellites and dozens of satellites launched for various companies, countries and schools.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, marking the launch of the company's 20th this year and the eighth flight of the rocket's first stage.
After about 10 minutes, the engine returned to the ground and landed in landing area 1. This is a concrete platform that has not been used for missile landings since December. The Falcon 9 booster typically lands on autonomous ships operating at sea.
At the same time, the second stage of the Falcon 9 88 satellite booster is operating.
36 small satellites are installed on a new payload converter from Spaceflight, the company reserves space for the small satellites through rockets as well as other satellites arranged by SpaceX.
This is the second mission of the SmallSat Rideshare cost-cutting program, which provides small satellites from US$1 million for space travel.
SpaceX launches 88 satellites
Cheaper launch services have revived the simple satellite market. SpaceX's SmallSat Rideshare program is taking advantage of the growing small satellite market. The company can provide services ranging from communications to Earth observation.
The Pentagon's Space Development Agency has five satellites on the Transporter-2 mission. They test laser communication with each other in space. This is done in addition to a separate experiment to test geospatial data processing.
Both tests support the agency's goal of communicating with ships and weapons systems faster than ever before.
The Transporter-2 mission brought the total number of satellites launched by SpaceX since late January to nearly 900. That is double the number of satellites launched each year before 2020 worldwide.
The vast majority of these satellites are dedicated to SpaceX's Starlink web, which continues to grow as the year progresses.