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SpaceX Rocket Stuns Californians As It Carries 10 Satellites Into Space (theguardian.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the it's-a-bird-it's-a-plane dept.

A reused SpaceX rocket carried 10 satellites into orbit from California on Friday, leaving behind a trail of mystery and wonder as it soared into space. Elon Musk jokingly tweeted a video of the rocket with the caption, "Nuclear alien UFO from North Korea." The Guardian reports: The Falcon 9 booster lifted off from coastal Vandenberg air force base, carrying the latest batch of satellites for Iridium Communications. The launch in the setting sun created a shining, billowing streak that was widely seen throughout southern California and as far away as Phoenix, Arizona. Calls came in to TV stations as far afield as San Diego, more than 200 miles south of the launch site, as people puzzled about what caused the strange sight. Cars stopped on freeways in Los Angeles so drivers and passengers could take pictures and video. The Los Angeles fire department issued an advisory that the "mysterious light in the sky" was from the rocket launch. The same rocket carried Iridium satellites into orbit in June. That time, the first stage landed on a floating platform in the Pacific ocean. This time, the rocket was allowed to plunge into the sea. It was the 18th and final launch of 2017 for SpaceX, which has contracted to replace Iridium's system with 75 updated satellites. SpaceX has made four launches and expects to make several more to complete the job by mid-2018. The satellites also carry payloads for global aircraft tracking and a ship-tracking service. Did any Slashdotters manage to view the spectacle?

3 of 105 comments (clear)

  1. Remarkable Achievements from SpaceX by saibot834 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As much as Elon Musk likes to make big announcements with dubious time schedules, SpaceX has really delivered in 2017. Copying from FutureMartian97:

    18 Falcon 9 launches
    100% Primary mission success
    100% First Stage landing success
    The first reflight of a Falcon 9 first stage
    The first reflight of a Dragon Capsule
    Reflying 5 first stages
    Reflying 2 Dragon Capsules

    And Falcon Heavy is going to launch very soon, currently scheduled for January.

    1. Re: Remarkable Achievements from SpaceX by prefec2 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Didn't explode a rocket on the launchpad recently? How do you come up with 100% success rate?

  2. Re: Good Marketing by PoopJuggler · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah there's nothing extraordinary about launching a rocket into outer space... Anyone with a 3D printer can do that.