Breaking a SpaceX record for the shortest span between two missions from the same launch pad, a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off Saturday from Cape Canaveral carrying 58 more Starlink broadband satellites and three Earth-imaging spacecraft for Planet.
Another batch of Starlink Internet satellites shared a ride into orbit with three of Planet’s SkySat Earth-imaging satellites on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Saturday. The Falcon 9 lifted off at 5:21 a.m. EDT (0921 GMT) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Three of Planet’s SkySat Earth-imaging satellites are mounted on top of 58 of SpaceX’s Starlink broadband satellites for launch Saturday from Cape Canaveral on top of a Falcon 9 rocket, the first secondary payloads to ride to orbit on SpaceX’s commercial rideshare service.
Three of Planet’s commercial SkySat Earth-imaging spacecraft will ride to space on top of a stack of SpaceX Starlink satellites next month aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, and three more will hitch a ride on another SpaceX mission later this summer.