SpaceX's Falcon 9 launched successfully with record-breaking 143 spacecrafts into orbit

Creating another record, SpaceX launched the very first of its dedicated rideshare missions-- Falcon 9 carrying a total of 143 satellites into space. Falcon 9, which allows small satellite operators to book a portion of a payload on the launch, lifted off on January 24, at around 10 AM EST (7 AM PST), holding the first Starlink satellite fleet of 2021. The Starlink satellites onboard will also be the first in the constellation to deploy to a polar orbit, as per the American space company.

According to SpaceX,  Falcon 9 flying today holds a total of 143 satellites, breaking the record of the highest number of satellites being launched on a single rocket, once held by the Indian Space Research Organization’s PSLV-C37 which carried a payload of 104 spacecraft in February 2017.

As per the latest by SpaceX, Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the Of Course I Still Love You drone ship and its deployment sequence has begun. Rideshare customers’ deployment has also been confirmed. Earlier, the launch was scheduled for  Monday (January 18) at around 8:45 a.m. EST (1345 GMT), however, it had to be cancelled due to bad weather. 

Read: SpaceX Launch Schedule: Date, Time And Place Details About Falcon 9 Blast Off

Read: SpaceX's 1st 2021 Launch Scheduled For Jan 20: Here's All You Need To Know About It

Details about Falcon 9

According to SpaceX, Falcon 9 is a two-stage reusable rocket designed and manufactured by the company for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond. It is also the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket allowing it to refly the most expensive parts of the rocket, thereby massively bringing down the cost of space access.

Previously, the Elon Musk organization had launched 60 Starlink satellites into space making it more than a 1000 satellites into the Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The new satellites are also said to be equipped with a new deployable 'sun visor system' which is created to block reflections of sunlight off of their antenna surfaces. This is also the reason why they are denoted as "Astronomy-friendly satellites". 

Read: SpaceX To Launch Starship Sn9; Musk Plans To Make 1000 Starships, Take People To Mars

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