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Our Project Suncatcher prototype satellite is in orbit

80 points · 77 comments · pantalaimon

  1. dyauspitr · · focus · HN ↗
    When did they do this? I didn’t hear of any SpaceX launches besides the falcon launch yesterday for a government spy satellite. I wonder if this one was also bundled in.
    1. grendelt · · focus · HN ↗
      If US folks are watching a rocket launch and they're wearing light jackets, it's Vandenberg (which doesn't publish all their scheduled rocket launches.)
    2. peri-cl · · focus · HN ↗
      There were three SpaceX launches yesterday. (An ISS crew, a Falcon Heavy spy satellite, and a big rideshare that included this).
      1. TiredOfLife · · focus · HN ↗
        There is a global market of only about 25 rocket launches a year (according to Arianne aerospace) and SpaceX launched 3 in a single day?
        1. comfydragon · · focus · HN ↗
          There were 317 successful orbital launches in 2025 [0] and 229 so far this year [1]...

          [0]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;2025_in_spaceflight#Orbital_launches" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;2025_in_spaceflight#Orbital_la...

          [1]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;2026_in_spaceflight#Orbital_launches" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;2026_in_spaceflight#Orbital_la...

          Edit: mistyped 317 as 313

        2. bigbuppo · · focus · HN ↗
          Those were the Before Times. Now SpaceX is sending up sky clutter all the damn time.
        3. daemonologist · · focus · HN ↗
          I don&#x27;t know what that Arianespace figure is referring to (perhaps just the commercial satellite market, or the portion of it they expect to capture?) but there were 317 successful launches to orbit in 2025. Last April there were six in 24 hours: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.space.com&#x2F;space-exploration&#x2F;launches-spacecraft&#x2F;new-record-6-rockets-launch-in-less-than-24-hours" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.space.com&#x2F;space-exploration&#x2F;launches-spacecraft&#x2F;...

          Three launches from one company is unusual though.

        4. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

          [deleted]

    3. c22 · · focus · HN ↗
      <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.spacex.com&#x2F;launches&#x2F;transporter18" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.spacex.com&#x2F;launches&#x2F;transporter18
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