LOS ANGELES, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. private spaceflight company Spaced on Friday launched 10 communications satellites into orbit.
A used two-stage Falcon 9 booster lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLY-4E) at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at about 5:27 p.m. local time (0127 GMT, Saturday).
The satellites, lofted for the commercial Iridium NEXT constellation, were scheduled to begin deployment about an hour after launch.
"Successful deployment of 10 @IridiumComm NEXT satellites to low-Earth orbit confirmed," the California-based company tweeted. The company did not attempt to recover Falcon 9's first stage after launch.
The launch was visible across most of southern California, which was treated to a spectacular light show as the rocket streaked across the sky.
Many people pulled their cars over to take photos and videos of the sight. Witnesses posted their photos on social media, with many wondering if it was a UFO.
The Falcon 9's first stage for the Iridium-4 mission previously supported the Iridium-2 mission from launch site SLC-4E in June 2017, making Iridium the first SpaceX customer ever to launch twice atop the same rocket.
This is the fourth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium's next-generation global satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT.
