Elon Musk's SpaceX Launches More Satellites To Orbit Via Falcon 9 — 48 For Starlink, 2 For BlackSky - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA)

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk-owned SpaceX said on Thursday it launched 48 Starlink satellites and two BlackSky spacecraft to orbit from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

What Happened: Falcon 9, a partially reusable rocket designed by SpaceX to transport people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond, launched the satellites at 6:12 p.m. ET.

This was the ninth launch and landing of the Falcon 9 first stage booster, the space company said.

SpaceX shared the live broadcast on twitter alongwith updates on the deployment.

Starlink is a SpaceX venture designed to beam down the internet, especially in remote areas from satellites in orbit to Earth.

Musk had recently revealed the service would be expanded to 14 countries and that it is awaiting licenses in several other countries.

Starlink is known to have launched over 1,500 satellites. The company hopes to have 4,425 in orbit by 2024. The Federal Communications Commission has approved 11,943 satellites to be launched by Starlink.

BlackSky BKSY provides satellite imagery and data analysis primarily for military and government clients.

Why It Matters: Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital class reusable rocket. The reusability factor brings down costs significantly as it allows the space agency to refly the most expensive parts of the rocket.

SpaceX plans to fly its fully reusable, biggest rocket Starship to orbit in January and eventually aims for Starship to replace its existing rockets — Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Dragon 2 — and be able to carry much more mass into orbit.

Musk had last week warned SpaceX employees that the space company faces a "genuine risk of bankruptcy" if its biggest reusable rocket Starship is not able to meet a flight rate of at least once every two weeks next year.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs