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SpaceX launched than 100 satellites to orbit from California early Monday morning (March 30).
A rocket lifted off from in California on Monday at 6:20 a.m. EDT (1020 GMT; 3:20 a.m. local California time).
Transporter-16 lofted 119 payloads, "including , microsats, hosted payloads, a reentry vehicle, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying eight of those payloads to be deployed at a later time," SpaceX wrote in a .
Article continues belowAs its name suggests, Transporter-16 was the 16th mission of 's Transporter rideshare series. The company also operates another rideshare program called Bandwagon, which has four launches under its belt so far.
Together, these two programs have lofted a total of more than 1,600 payloads to orbit — including in January 2021, which still holds the single-launch record.
The Falcon 9's first stage landed about 8.5 minutes after launch on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 12th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to the mission description.
The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, hauled the 119 payloads to , where they were deployed starting about 55 minutes after liftoff.
Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!
Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.
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