SpaceX ridesharing mission launches record 143 satellites

Much like ridesharing via Uber on Earth, Elon Musk-run SpaceX has successfully launched its new cost-cutting rideshare mission with 143 small satellites – a new record for a single rocket – into space.

Called the Transporter-1 mission, the two-stage Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on Sunday from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. “Falcon 9 launches 143 spacecraft to orbit – the most ever deployed on a single mission – completing SpaceX’s first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare Programme mission,” SpaceX said in a tweet. According to SpaceX, the rideshare programme offers cheap access to space for small satellite companies, starting at $1 million for a 200-kg satellite.

Much like a “rideshare Uber”, a company’s small satellite can hitch a ride to space with this new mision.

The SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket sent a mix of shoebox-sized CubeSats and much heavier micro-satellites to a 326-mile-high polar orbit. The 143 satellites include 48 Earth imaging satellites, 17 tiny communications satellites, and 30 small satellites for the US and Europe by Germany-based Exolaunch.