[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]SpaceX’s sixth mission of the year is scheduled for today. A used Falcon 9 rocket is set to launch 10 Iridium telecommunications satellites from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
SpaceX will not attempt to land the rocket, as it’s an older version being phased out ahead of a new model. However, SpaceX will attempt to retrieve the nose cone that surrounds the satellites during launch by catching it in a giant net constructed on a boat in the Pacific Ocean. An attempt to catch the nose cone in a previous launch missed the boat by a few hundred yards.
Today’s launch is part of a contract with Iridium to launch 75 satellites into lower Earth orbit to replace its existing constellation. This will be the fifth batch of 10 satellites launched.
The launch window for the mission is set for 10:13 a.m. ET (7:13 a.m. PT). SpaceX’s livestream of the mission is below.[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp0TW8vkCLg” video_title=”1″][/vc_column][/vc_row]