SpaceX launches 21 satellites for OneWeb, Iridium

Multimedia

20-05-2023, 19:20

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INA - SOURCES

A SpaceX rocket soared into the California morning sky to deliver two mini-fleets of satellites into orbit, then landed at sea, capturing amazing video along the way.

The Falcon 9 rocket, topped with 21 satellites for the companies Iridium and OneWeb, lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 9:16 a.m. EDT (1316GMT; 6:16 a.m. local California time).

The successful launch came one day after a last-minute abort on Friday, when SpaceX called off the flight just 55 seconds before liftoff.

"Since then, the teams have completed checkouts on the vehicle and the ground systems and we're looking good going into today's attempt," SpaceX operations engineer Siva Bharadvaj said during the company's launch commentary.