Used SpaceX rocket launches satellite, then lands in historic 1st reflight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a used first stage launches the SES-10 communications satellite from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 30, 2017. (Photo/SpaceX)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soared off a seaside launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center here today (March 30) on an unprecedented second mission to deliver a spacecraft into orbit, proving the booster's reusability.
The two-stage, 23-story-tall rocket lifted off at 6:27 p.m. EDT (2227 GMT) in the second launch in two weeks for Elon Musk's SpaceX, which is ramping up its flight rate following an accident in September.
Perched on top of the rocket, which sported a new upper stage and payload fairing, was the 11,645-lb. (5,282 kilograms) SES-10 communications satellite, which is intended to provide TV, internet and other services to customers in Latin America.
"This is a really, really exciting step forward," Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer of Luxembourg-based SES, said before launch. "I think the whole industry is looking."
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