SpaceX Launches Bicoastal Missions Putting 124 Payloads into Orbit Written 13 June 2023

CBS News reports that in a Monday doubleheader, SpaceX “launched 52 Starlink internet satellites from Florida and then fired off another Falcon 9 from California, putting 72 small payloads from multiple vendors into orbit in the company’s eighth low-cost ‘rideshare’ mission.” The Florida-based mission launched 52 Starlink satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral in a pre-dawn flight to bring the company’s satellite constellation total to 4,595. The Transporter 8 mission “took off from Vandenberg Space Force Base northwest of Los Angeles at 5:35 p.m. EDT, carrying 72 rideshare payloads provided by multiple vendors and launch brokers.” Transporter missions are “intended to provide low-cost access to space for small payloads that might otherwise have to wait for rides on missions dedicated to larger satellites.” SpaceX “charges $275,000 for a 110-pound payload, and $5,500 for each additional 2.2 pounds.”
Full Story (CBS News)