SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets from opposite US coasts just 38 minutes apart on Saturday, setting a new launch record.
The first rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 9:12 pm EDT, carrying eight Globalstar satellites into low Earth orbit.
SpaceX said all eight satellites were successfully deployed, with the spacecraft separating over about six minutes beginning roughly 56.5 minutes after liftoff.
Just 38 minutes later, another Falcon 9 lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on California’s central coast.
The rocket carried the classified USSF-366 mission for the US Space Force and lifted off at 9:50 pm EDT.
The back-to-back launches marked a rapid-fire sequence involving commercial telecommunications satellites and a classified US military payload.
