SpaceX launches 119 payloads to orbit on a single Falcon 9 rocket (video)

SpaceX launched than 100 satellites to orbit from California early Monday morning (March 30).

a rocket launches at night — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches the Transporter 16 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday, March 30. (Image credit: SpaceX)

As its name suggests, Transporter-16 was the 16th mission of SpaceX's Transporter rideshare series. The company also operates another rideshare program called Bandwagon, which has four launches under its belt so far.

Together, these two programs have lofted a total of more than 1,600 payloads to orbit — including 143 on Transporter-1 in January 2021, which still holds the single-launch record.

The Falcon 9's first stage landed about 8.5 minutes after launch on the SpaceX droneship "Of Course I Still Love You," which was stationed in the Pacific Ocean. It was the 12th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to the mission description.

The rocket's upper stage, meanwhile, hauled the 119 payloads to low Earth orbit, where they were deployed starting about 55 minutes after liftoff.

Michael Wall is the Spaceflight and Tech Editor for Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers human and robotic spaceflight, military space, and exoplanets, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.