Brenda Marie Rivers
SpaceX has sent its Falcon 9 launch vehicle to orbit carrying 143 spacecraft including 10 small satellites that will serve as part of the company’s Starlink broadband constellation, CNBC reported Sunday.
The Transporter-1 mission lifted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida as part of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare initiative aimed at launching spacecraft.
Falcon 9 launched SpaceX’s 10 Starlink spacecraft and 133 other payloads from government and industry customers such as NASA, the University of South Florida Institute of Applied Engineering, Planet, Capella Space, Spire Global and HawkEye 360.
The mission launched the Vigoride satellite-servicing platform of Santa Clara, California-based company Momentus before sending the Starlink satellites to orbit, according to CNBC.
Transporter-1 surpassed the record of India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle rocket on the most spacecraft launched at the same time, with the latter launching 104 payloads in 2017.
