SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from California to space on October 7, 2018
December 3, the company Ilona Mask SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket, sending an unusual load into space - 64 satellites at the same time. This is a new record for the United States. But this is not the only achievement. The company has taken another step in its quest to develop the technology of reuse of rockets, launching a redesigned booster for the third time.
California-based SpaceX landed over 30 such boosters on Earth and began re-using them in subsequent missions. Previously, companies allowed millions of equipment to fall into the ocean, like garbage. Landing on Monday went flawlessly, like many others.
A few minutes after the start, the white part (first stage) separated from the second stage. Then the accelerator activated the engines and performed a controlled vertical landing on a platform in the Pacific Ocean. The second stage brought into space 15 microsatellites and 49CubeSat, owned by 34 different customers, including public, private and university sources from 17 different countries (including South Korea, France and Kazakhstan). Microsatellites weigh in kilograms, and CubeSat is even smaller.
During the following hours, the satellites went into orbit. Not all clients have scientific objectives. For example, the Nevada Museum of Art launched the sculpture “Orbital Reflector” by artist Trevor Paglen. This is an inflatable sculpture that will disintegrate when it returns to the Earth’s atmosphere in a few weeks.
