SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket carried 10 Iridium satellites into orbit on Wednesday. The rocket blasted-off early Wednesday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

"All 10 satellites have deployed into an on-target orbit," Spaceflight Now's Stephen Clark reported at 8:53 a.m. ET.

As usual, SpaceX safely landed the rocket's reusable first stage. The rocket stage landed on the spaceport drone ship "Just Read the Instructions." Though SpaceX's rocket reusability has become routine, Wednesday's weather conditions made the feat more difficult.

"Despite challenging weather conditions, Falcon 9 first stage booster landed on Just Read the Instructions," SpaceX wrote on Twitter.

Foggy conditions made visibility a problem. At the outset of the live streaming broadcast, the Falcon 9 rocket was nearly invisible, only coming into clear view after liftoff. Choppy seas added to the challenge of landing the first stage back on Earth.

The 10 Iridium satellites will join the dozens of Iridium satellites already in space. The constellation of communication satellites -- now featuring 75 satellites and scheduled to get 10 more later this summer -- is designed to support the Internet of Things, the technology behind smart devices.

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

Tweet

Boeing, SpaceX unlikely to make manned flights to ISS in 2019
Washington (AFP) July 12, 2018
Boeing and SpaceX are unlikely to be able to send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) next year, according to a US government audit report, resulting in a possible gap in the US presence on the spacecraft. The two companies were engaged by the US space agency NASA in 2014 to develop rockets that could transport astronauts to the space station when the current contract with Russia's Soyuz expires in November 2019. But neither company is expected to be ready to carry out manned fli ... read more