A new world record has been set for the number of satellites sent into space on a single rocket.
SpaceX lifted a record-breaking number of satellites in a single payload. Photo: AFP
The 143 payloads, of all shapes and sizes, rode to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon rocket that launched out of Florida, USA.
The number beats the previous record of 104 satellites carried by an Indian spacecraft in 2017.
Major structural changes are taking place in space activity, allowing many more actors to get involved.
A revolution in robust, miniaturised, low-cost components - many taken direct from consumer electronics such as smartphones - means pretty much anyone can now build a capable satellite in a small package.
And with SpaceX offering to transport those packages to orbit for $1 million, commercial opportunities are expected to continue to open up.
SpaceX itself had 10 satellites on the Falcon - the latest additions to its Starlink telecommunications mega-constellation, which is going to deliver broadband internet connections around the globe.
San Francisco's Planet company had the most satellites of all on the flight - 48.
A Planet Labs satellite photo of the disputed border between China and India. Photo: Planet Labs/ AFP
These were another batch of its SuperDove models that image the Earth's surface daily at a resolution of 3-5m. The new spacecraft takes the firm's operational fleet now in orbit to more than 200.
The SuperDoves are the size of a shoebox. Many other payloads on the Falcon rocket were little bigger than a coffee mug, and some were smaller than a paperback book.
Swarm Technologies is rolling out what it calls SpaceBees. They are 10cm by 10cm by 2.5cm.
They will act as telecommunications nodes to connect devices that are attached to all manner of objects on the ground, from migrating animals to shipping containers.
Some of the larger items on the Falcon rocket were suitcase-sized. Among these were several radar satellites. Radar has been one of the major beneficiaries of the revolution in componentry.
Traditionally, radar satellites were big, multi-tonne objects that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to fly. This meant only the military or major space agencies could afford to operate them.
But the adoption of new materials and compact "off the shelf" parts has shrunk the size (to under 100kg) and price (a couple of million dollars) of these spacecraft.
Iceye from Finland, Capella and Umbra from the US, and iQPS of Japan all took the ride to orbit yesterday. These start-ups are establishing constellations in the sky that will return rapid, repeat imagery of the Earth.
Radar has the advantage over standard optical cameras of being able to pierce cloud, and to sense the Earth's surface whether it is day or night. Any change on the planet can be picked up almost immediately.
The Falcon carried the 143 satellites into a 500km-high path that runs from pole to pole.
One of the drawbacks of big rideshare missions is loads go where the rocket goes, and for some that might not be ideal.
A number of satellite missions will want an orbit higher or lower in the sky, or on a different inclination to the equator.
This can be achieved by mounting the satellites on "space tugs" which, after coming off the top of the rocket, modify the final parameters for their "passengers" over the course of several weeks. Yesterday's Falcon carried two such tugs.
But for some missions a bespoke ride is going to be the only satisfactory solution, so there is a rush to produce small rockets that can run dedicated flights.
Smaller rockets will not be able to compete on cost with the big vehicles, such as SpaceX's Falcon-9, but they are expected to attract the custom of those with specific or urgent needs.
Dan Hart, the CEO of Virgin Orbit, which has developed a small rocket that can be launched from under the wing of a Boeing 747, said the start-ups were becoming more discerning.
"These small satellites used to be points of fascination and interest, and it was a case of finding the cheapest way possible to get into space," he explained.
"That's rapidly changing. These are now businesses with critical missions that risk losing revenue if they have to wait on others or go into an unsuitable orbit. And that's why you're going to see people who will pay that little bit more to get to where they want to go when they absolutely need to go there," he told BBC News.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching in Florida. Photo: Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto/ AFP
With the roll call of satellites going into orbit now accelerating rapidly, the issue of traffic management is becoming a hot topic.
Full-on collisions are rare, but 10 percent of satellites experience sudden, unexpected momentum changes, probably as a result of being hit by a small fragment from a previous mission.
Unless the space sector finds smarter ways to track objects in orbit and to command timely avoidance manoeuvres, certain altitudes could become unusable, because of the presence of dense debris fields.
- BBC