SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink internet satellites to low Earth orbit as well as three small satellites provided by Planet Labs Inc. The mission launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 13, 2020.
This mission was the first for SpaceX's SmallSat Rideshare Mission program, which aims to provide a flexible, low-cost method of transporting multiple small satellites to an assortment of destinations in low-Earth orbit using Falcon 9 launch vehicles. SpaceX announced the creation of the program in August 2019, and allowed small satellite operators to begin manifesting their spacecraft to launch on dedicated rideshare flights or select Starlink missions.
Photo Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF
