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FP trendJan 26, 2021 9:31:33 AM IS
Elon Musk’s SpaceX has managed to break the world record for the most satellites carried by a single rocket, as Falcon 9 carried up to 143 payloads into space on Monday. The launch was part of the mission of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program and the company’s social media handles images shared since launch. Falcon 9, which has participated in numerous SpaceX missions in the past, flew from Florida to bring the 143 satellites of various shapes and sizes into their orbits.
Falcon 9 launches 143 spacecraft into orbit, the most ever deployed in a single mission, completing the first dedicated mission of SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare program. pic.twitter.com/CJSUvKWeb4
– SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 25, 2021
Previously, the record was 104 satellites deployed in a single mission, achieved by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) in 2017. The satellites were launched via the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) flight PSLV-C37 on February 15, 2017.
Falcon 9 launched 143 spacecraft into orbit, successfully completing the first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission. Image Credit: Twitter @SpaceX
According to a BBC report, SpaceX transported satellites for various private and government space agencies. The largest number of satellites were from the San Francisco Planet company, which had 48 of its SuperDove models in flight. Iceye from Finland, Capella and Umbra from the US, and iQPS from Japan also had their satellites as payloads. Apart from these, there were 10 SpaceX satellites as part of its Starlink constellation.
The latest additions will join their sister satellites just days after the company launched a batch of 60 satellites on January 20. These were also placed in orbit by Falcon 9. Now the total number of Starlink satellites in space has reached 965. According to the plan, the constellation will be a massive network of up to 30,000 satellites.
Most of the payloads carried by Falcon 9 in the recent launch were tiny, and the average size was slightly larger than a coffee cup. The largest items were, at best, the size of a suitcase. The Falcon took the 143 satellites into a 500 km high orbit running from pole to pole.
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