Billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX has successfully launched its long-delayed US military navigation satellite from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Sunday, making it the company’s first national security space mission for the US Government.
The Falcon 9 rocket carrying a roughly $500m GPS satellite built by Lockheed Martin Corp lifted off at 8.51am local time. The launch, SpaceX’s fourth attempt in a week after technical and weather delays, would have been the rocket firm’s first national security space mission for the United States. Musk’s rocket company has spent years trying to break into the lucrative market for military space launches long-dominated by Lockheed and Boeing Co (BA.N).
Billionaire Elon Musk’s privately held rocket company achieved a significant victory by launching it, which has spent years trying to break into the lucrative market for military space launches dominated by Lockheed and Boeing.
The following fall, SpaceX won an $US83 million Air Force contract to launch the GPS III satellite, which will have a lifespan of 15 years.
GPS III satellite is due to launch in mid-2019 , Eschenfelder stated, while subsequent satellites undergo testing in the company’s Colorado processing facility.
> Shiuly Rina
