SpaceX Launches First US National Security Space Mission

Reuters
By Reuters
December 23, 2018Science & Tech
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SpaceX Launches First US National Security Space Mission
Rocket above earth. (Screenshot)

A SpaceX rocket carrying a U.S. military navigation satellite blasted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral on Sunday (December 23), marking the space transportation company’s first national security space mission for the United States.

The Falcon 9 rocket carrying a roughly $500 million GPS satellite built by Lockheed Martin Corp lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 8:51 a.m. local time (1351 GMT).

The successful launch is a significant victory for Elon Musk’s privately held rocket company, which has spent years trying to break into the lucrative market for military space launches dominated by Lockheed and Boeing Co .

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