On Monday, SpaceX launched Transporter 14 from low Earth orbit in California, carrying several satellites and human DNA.
The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Base in California at 2:18 p.m. Pacific Time.
This was the 26th flight of the first stage of the launch vehicle, including 15 Starlink missions.
Approximately 8.5 minutes after launch, the carrier landed on the unmanned ship “Of Course I Still Love You”, which was located in the Pacific Ocean.
The mission carried 70 payloads, including CubeSats, microsatellites and orbiters that will be deployed later.
German company Exolaunch had a payload of 45 satellites to deploy, the company's largest deployment yet, including a satellite designed to monitor water quality from space and an Earth observation satellite that will be used to assess cloud conditions.
Exolaunch CEO Robert Sprowls said SpaceX's joint launch program “is driving growth in the sector.”
“This provides an opportunity to really pressure test both our hardware and all of our mission control systems to make this process as simple as possible for our customers,” Sprowls added.
Exolaunch's clients represent companies from the United States, United Kingdom, Lithuania, Finland, Belgium, Germany, Australia, Canada, South Korea, France, Japan, Spain, Norway, Italy and Greece.
Houston-based space burial services company Celetsis said the flight's payload will also include 150 capsules containing DNA and human remains.
The Celetsis payload will reach low Earth orbit and orbit the Earth two to three times before reentering the atmosphere. The capsules will then be retrieved from the Pacific Ocean and returned to their customers.
“Celestis is excited to offer a new type of Earth Rise mission through The Exploration Company,” said co-founder and CEO Charles Chafer. “Our participants’ capsules will orbit the Earth and return via the Mission Possible capsule, creating an immersive takeoff and return experience.”
The Transporter launch was originally scheduled for Sunday but was delayed due to adverse weather conditions.
Sourse: www.upi.com
