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SpaceX Successfully Launches Another Falcon Heavy Mission, But Loses Core

Hawthorne-based SpaceX has successfully delivered another Falcon Heavy into space late Monday evening, delivering a payload of satellites into space for the Department of Defense. The launch--the first for the Department of Defense--also delivered a number of ride-shared projects into space for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and others. SpaceX said the launch was "among the most challenging launches" in its history, with four separate upper-stage engine burns, three separate deployment orbits, a final propulsive passivation maneuver and a total mission duration of over six hours. Despite the successful payload launch, it appears that the core of the Falcon Heavy failed to land properly on the SpaceX drone ship out in the Atlantic; videos from SpaceX show a fiery crash of the Falcon core as it came in to land on that drone ship last night.