SpaceX has sent 10 more satellites into orbit for the Iridium NEXT constellation, passing the halfway point in its 75-satellite launch contract.
The satellites went into space aboard a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket launched at 5:27 p.m. PT today from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and were due to be deployed sequentially into pole-to-pole orbits.
The first-stage booster was initially used for an Iridium mission in June, and then was recovered and refurbished for today's launch. This time, SpaceX decided against trying to have the booster fly itself to an oceangoing platform for yet another round of reuse. Instead, it made a controlled splashdown into the Pacific Ocean.
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