#WASHINGTON — SpaceX launched more than 100 #satellites in the ninth in a series of dedicated smallsat rideshare missions Nov. 11, the latest flight in a program that has generated both delight and disdain across the commercial space industry.
A Falcon 9 lifted off from #Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 1:49 p.m. Eastern on the Transporter-9 mission. The booster, which previously launched 11 missions including Transporter-8 in June, landed back at the launch site seven and a half minutes after liftoff.
Transporter-9 carried 90 payloads deployed over the course of half an hour, starting about 55 minutes after liftoff, although confirmations of a successful deployment were initially missing for several of the satellites. Those payloads included several orbital transfer vehicles that will later deploy their satellites, bringing the total satellites on the launch to more than 110. #spacenews