SpaceX conducts first rocket launch since September explosion

SpaceX made its first rocket launch on Saturday since a rocket exploded during a test run in September. The company has launched ten satellites into orbit and the first stage booster has also successfully landed back on a SpaceX drone ship.

The booster landing is the seventh that SpaceX successfully performs. The rocket had a total of ten communications satellites on board, all of which were successfully launched into low Earth orbit, about 625 kilometers above Earth. According to the company, these are the first ten satellites of at least 70 that SpaceX will orbit for its customer Iridium. The satellites facilitate mobile communication, both in the form of telephone calls and data.

SpaceX hadn’t conducted any rocket launches for more than four months as it needed to figure out why a rocket exploded on the platform during a static fire test. The problem turned out to be in a part of the fuel tanks and should now be solved.

Now that the company can continue with its activities, the company does have a backlog of rocket launches to catch up. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, SpaceX had planned to launch 20 rockets in 2016, but ultimately only had eight. This year, those launches will not only have to be made up, but 27 more are also planned.

With its activities, SpaceX tries to make space travel cheaper and more reliable. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stated in the past that he would like to see the possibility of establishing a human colony on Mars in the long term.

Video starts at launch time