A recycled SpaceX rocket was sent back into space Friday in a spectacular launch from the California coast.
The launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base was initially scheduled for Thursday, but a technical problem with one of the 10 communications satellites forced they delay.
The Hawthorne-based company’s rocket is the same one used in an October mission. The first-stage booster returned to Earth after delivering its cargo to space, but will not make a return flight this time.
Cheers erupted at company headquarters as employees watched the launch live.
The payload is the fifth set of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites, which will replace a commercial satellite network in low-Earth orbit. SpaceX calls it one of the largest “tech upgrades” in history.
The $3 billion project is scheduled for completion this year, with a total of 75 new satellites in orbit. Iridium, based in McLean, Virginia, provides mobile voice and data communications.
Another used Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch a Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station next week. That launch is scheduled for Tuesday from Florida’s Cape Canaveral.
Source : Nbcnewyork
