SpaceX broke a world space record by launching 143 satellites in quick succession. It beat India’s record of deploying 104 satellites in February 2017. The 143 satellites that were launched on Sunday included commercial and government CubeSats, microsats, orbiter transfer vehicles and 10 Starlink satellites. This batch of Starlink satellites was the first in the constellation to be placed in the polar orbit. It took around 90 minutes for the operation. With these satellites, SpaceX plans to provide global broadband internet coverage all over the world.
The launch vehicle for the SpaceX record breaking flight was the Falcon-9 and the mission was designated as Transporter-1. It took off at Cape Canaveral in Florida. At one point, the rocket flew over India and it’s signal was picked up by Isro’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Bengaluru.
The launch is the first dedicated mission for SpaceX’s SmallSat Rideshare Program that enables small satellite customers to book a ride to orbit with SpaceX directly. According to sources, SpaceX offered a very low price of $15,000 per kilogram for each satellite to be delivered to a polar sun-synchronous orbit.
