CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — As the whole world just finished ringing in the new year, SpaceX just successfully launched its first mission of 2023.
Targeting a 9:56 a.m. launch Tuesday morning, the spacecraft engineering corporation blasted off the Falcon 9 rocket sending the Transporter-6 mission to low-Earth orbit.
The first stage booster that supported the mission previously launched GPS III-3, Turksat 5A, Transporter-2, Intelsat G-33/G-34 and 10 Starlink missions – making this the 15th successful launch for the booster.
"Transporter-6 is SpaceX’s sixth dedicated smallsat rideshare mission," SpaceX explains on its website. "There will be 114 payloads on this flight, including CubeSats, microsats, picosats, and orbital transfer vehicles carrying spacecraft to be deployed at a later time."
Altogether, Falcon 9 has a total of 193 launches racked up with 151 total landings, according to SpaceX. The spacecraft also has 130 total re-flights.
Falcon 9 is reportedly the world's first orbital-class reusable rocket which allows SpaceX to refly the most expensive parts of the rocket.
To watch the full launch, click the video below.