SpaceX is a private company that manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.
After several recent failed missions, SpaceX has launched and recovered the first ever reusable rocket. The SpaceX rocket launched multiple satellites into space, then came back to Earth, using rockets to stabilize itself and land on a pad in at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
“If one can figure out how to effectively reuse rockets just like airplanes, the cost of access to space will be reduced by as much as a factor of a hundred. A fully reusable vehicle has never been done before. That really is the fundamental breakthrough needed to revolutionize access to space,” said founder Elon Musk.
About The Mission
With this mission, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 11 satellites to low-Earth orbit for ORBCOMM, a leading global provider of Machine-to-Machine communication and Internet of Things solutions. The ORBCOMM launch is targeted for an evening launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. If all goes as planned, the 11 satellites will be deployed approximately 20 minutes after liftoff, completing a 17-satellite, low Earth orbit constellation for ORBCOMM. This mission also marks SpaceX’s return-to-flight as well as its first attempt to land a first stage on land. The landing of the first stage is a secondary test objective.
Nine-minute exposure picture of the launch, re-entry and landing burns of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.