SpaceX’s Successful Friday Launch Opens Weekend Doubleheader
- Launch was eighth this year, matching total for all of 2016
- Company lands booster on ship despite heat, force concerns
Watch SpaceX's Latest Falcon 9 Rocket Launch
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The year’s not half over, and Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. is about to launch more missions than it completed in all of 2016.
SpaceX successfully fired up a Falcon 9 rocket for the eighth time this year on Friday, matching its flight total for all of last year. Its next launch is scheduled just two days later, with the ramped-up cadence putting the company on track to achieve the 20 to 24 total missions it’s targeting for the year.