SpaceX completes largest cargo launch ever from 143 satellites



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SpaceX has completed a historic cargo launch of 143 orbiting satellites, the agency said.

The company delivered 133 commercial and government spacecraft as well as 10 Starlink satellites as part of its carpool mission, making it the largest single-mission deployment.

The double-decker Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Sunday morning, marking the fifth mission the Transporter-1 booster has been used, according to Space.com.

The launch had been delayed to Saturday due to bad weather conditions.

The Transporter-1 booster has previously been used to launch a communications satellite for the South Korean military, a number of other Starlink satellites, and a Dragon cargo capsule for a space station refueling mission.

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After launch, the Falcon 9 then deployed the satellites to a dozen waves over a 90-minute window after take-off, Ars Technica reported.

The Transporter-1 returned to land on a drone in the Atlantic Ocean. The drone spacecraft was named “Of Course I Still Love You” after a ship from Iain M. Banks’ cultural novels, like all of SpaceX’s autonomous space drones.

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SpaceX claimed it was the first deployment of a constellation – a term for a group of satellites – to a polar orbit.

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