Musk's SpaceX caps record year with Friday rocket launch

The maiden flight of Falcon Heavy, SpaceX's bigger and more powerful rocket that will let it compete for heavier U.S. military payloads, is slated for January

SpaceX’s launch Friday evening of a rocket carrying a batch of satellites into low-earth orbit caps a record year for the closely held company led by Elon Musk.

The mission from California’s central coast was Space Exploration Technologies Corp.’s 18th this year. That’s more than any competitor and far exceeds the eight it launched in 2016 before a September explosion grounded the company for the rest of the year while an investigation took place.

“SpaceX has had a phenomenal year, and they’ve motivated and inspired a lot of people as to what is possible,” said Eric Stallmer, president of the Commercial Spaceflight