"On Monday, December 3rd at 10:34 a.m. PST, SpaceX successfully launched Spaceflight SSO-A: SmallSat Express to a low Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California," the release said on Monday. "Carrying 64 payloads, this mission represented the largest single rideshare mission from a US-based launch vehicle to date."
LAUNCH!!! A #SpaceX #Falcon9 launches from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base with SSO-A: Small Satellite Express. The mission features 64 payloads. pic.twitter.com/LMzE8XbvSD
— Michael Baylor (@nextspaceflight) 3 декабря 2018 г.
Six deployments occurred about 13 to 43 minutes after the launch, and Spaceflights will command its own deployments over a period of six hours, the release said. The mission set a record for the largest single launch of satellites from US soil, the release said.
SpaceX has successfully deployed four microsats and a pair of Spaceflight free-flying deployers in orbit. This ends SpaceX’s role in today’s mission, which is now in the hands of Spaceflight's free-flyers to release 60 more satellites in the coming hours. https://t.co/paq40MckXs pic.twitter.com/xTKitu3Jhp
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) 3 декабря 2018 г.
It also marked the first time SpaceX launched the same booster for a third time, the release noted.
Several of the smallsats launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket have radioed their control teams back on Earth, including a German satellite carrying tomato seeds & a Finnish CubeSat with a miniature Earth-viewing radar. More satellites still being deployed. https://t.co/paq40MckXs pic.twitter.com/G928CDoB5B
— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) 3 декабря 2018 г.
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