SpaceX's Falcon 9 delivers 10 Iridium NEXT satellites into space

New Delhi: SpaceX on Sunday confirmed the successful deployment of 10 satellites owned by Iridium Communications into low-Earth orbit using a Falcon 9 rocket.

After it lifted off from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 1:25 pm local time (2025 GMT) as scheduled, the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket returned less than eight minutes after taking off. As planned, it landed on a barge floating in the Pacific Ocean.

SpaceX's Sunday launch came just two days after launching a Bulgarian communications satellite from Florida.

It was the second series of Iridium satellites launched by SpaceX, after a set of 10 were delivered in January.

SpaceX has successfully landed multiple rockets on both land and water, as part of its effort to bring down the cost of space flight by re-using multimillion dollar components instead of jettisoning them in the ocean after launch.

In total SpaceX, which is headed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, will launch a series of 75 satellites for Iridium`s satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT by 2018.

The $3 billion project is a bid to upgrade the Virginia-based Iridium`s global communications network.

SpaceX's next launch is targeted for mid-July for Intelsat communications satellite, although the date has not yet been confirmed.

(With AFP inputs)