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SpaceX just ended 2018 with a bang.
Elon Musk’s private spaceflight company performed its 21st launch of the year on Sunday, Dec. 23, lofting a GPS satellite to orbit for the U.S. Air Force.
The company didn’t bring its Falcon 9 rocket booster back in for a landing due to the Air Force’s mission requirements. Instead, this brand new rocket was used the old fashioned way and discarded after it performed its duties admirably.
The Sunday launch comes at the end of a full week of scrapped attempts, most of which were the result of unfavorable wind and weather conditions.
This launch is SpaceX’s final of the year, marking a record-number of annual launches for the company. And SpaceX has had quite the banner 2018.
The company managed to fly its Falcon Heavy rocket for the first time in February, and its Falcon 9 launches went off well throughout the year. The company also managed to land many of its rockets back on solid ground, including two of the Falcon Heavy’s three boosters.
On top of that, SpaceX managed to re-fly one of its Falcon 9 first stage boosters for the third time, a big feather in the company’s cap when it comes to reusability.
The company’s business model hinges on this reusability. Instead of just following the traditional one-and-done model of rocket launches, SpaceX launches and then re-launches its rockets to make spaceflight cheaper for all.
As usual, SpaceX documented Sunday’s launch with videos and photos shared on social media.
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