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SpaceX launched 143 satellites as part of its new Smallsat Rideshare program.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. set a record during its launch on January 24 by taking a total of 143 small satellites into space, the most ever deployed in a single launch.
The launch, which took off at 10 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, was the first mission carried out as part of SpaceX’s new Smallsat Carpool Program.
The product offering allows multiple customers to reserve available space on the Hawthorne-based company’s launch vehicles, reducing the price of smaller satellite deployment.
The satellites launched as part of the first mission were a combination of government and commercial spacecraft, according to SpaceX. They included 48 imaging satellites designed by Planet Labs Inc., 36 communications satellites manufactured by Swarm Technologies Inc., and 15 payloads aboard a newly designed orbital transfer vehicle from launch service provider Spaceflight Inc.
Also aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle were 10 internally designed and deployed satellites in support of the company’s Starlink global broadband program. It is the first group of satellites to be deployed in polar orbit in support of the Starlink project, which the company began beta testing last year.
SpaceX is not slowing down after a milestone 2020, in which the company surpassed its previous launch record and became the first private company to carry out manned missions to and from the International Space Station.
SpaceX is also planning another test of its massive Starship rocket, designed for interplanetary space travel. A prototype of the spacecraft crashed in December, but the company aims to attempt another high-altitude test later this month.
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