Space Launch NowUpcoming Launches
All upcoming launchesLoading launches
SpaceXLaunch SuccessfulCommunicationsFalcon 9 Block 4
Launched 2018-05-22 19:47:58 UTCSpace Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Success
Reached Low Earth Orbit
Worldwide
47th
orbital launch attempt in 2018
SpaceX
10th
launch this year
Space Launch Complex 4E
3rd
launch from this pad this year
Pad turnaround
53 d 5 h
since the pad's previous launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium, a global leader in mobile voice and data satellite communications. This is the sixth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium® NEXT. Sharing this launch is the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on mission, which is a joint project of NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences. It's goal is to track Earth's water movement to monitor changes in underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, soil moisture, ice sheets and glaciers, and sea level caused by the addition of water to the ocean.
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
Launches
742
Successful
727
98%
Landings
687
of 715
Upcoming
136
scheduled
Height
71m
Diameter
3.6m
To low Earth orbit
22,800kg
Liftoff thrust
6,804kN
Space Launch Now for iOS and Android
Notifications before every launch you follow, live countdowns on your home screen and watch, and webcasts as they start.
