Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Ten Communications Satellites Successfully Sent Into Orbit From Vandenberg Air Force Base

(SpaceX photo)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted ten small communication satellites into orbit Sunday

A rocket successfully launched ten small satellites into orbit from Santa Barbara County, completing a big weekend for the company behind the launch.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base at 1:25 p.m. Sunday.

It was carrying a payload of Iridium NEXT satellites into orbit.  The satellites are part of a next generation commercial satellite network being established to provide better global communications. It was the second of nine launches planned to place the new satellites into orbit. SpaceX officials say not only did the launch go well, the reusable booster successfully landed on a barge off the Pacific Coast.

On Friday, another SpaceX rocket was successfully launched from Florida carrying a communications satellite into orbit, and that booster was also successfully recovered.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
Related Stories