Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been awarded a new contract to launch a NASA satellite in 2021. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will begin at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, using a Falcon 9 rocket to take the research hardware into orbit.The total cost of the launch is said to be $112million, a huge amount of money but it won’t be going to SpaceX only.
SpaceX said:
“We appreciate NASA’s support and confidence.”
NASA will conduct the first-ever global survey of Earth’s surface water from California.This contract shows that SapceX is making a great progress in space.Although falcon 9 exploded in Cape Canaveral in September but overall they are progressing. In January, SpaceX delivered Jason-3 satellite to NASA and in next year will be launching planet seeking TESS satellite.