(Reuters) – A veteran rocket from billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s SpaceX spacecraft launched 143 spacecraft into space on Sunday, a new record for the most spacecraft deployed on a single mission, the company said.
The Falcon 9 rocket took off at 10 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. It flew south along Florida’s east coast on its way to space, the company said.
The reusable rocket brought 133 commercial and government spacecraft and 10 Starlink satellites to space – part of the company’s SmallSat Rideshare program, which provides access to space for small satellite operators looking for a reliable, affordable ride to orbit. the company said.
SpaceX postponed the launch one day due to unfavorable weather. On January 22, Musk, also CEO of Tesla Inc., wrote on Twitter, “Tomorrow we will launch many small satellites for a wide variety of customers. Excited about offering low-cost job access to small businesses! “
SpaceX was previously launched to orbit more than 800 satellites of the several thousand needed to provide broadband internet worldwide, an investment of $ 10 billion is estimated to generate $ 30 billion a year to build Musk’s interplanetary rocket program Called Starship.
Reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by Daniel Wallis