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SpaceX rocket launches record number of satellites

A new world record has been set for the number of satellites sent to space on a single rocket. The 143 payloads rode to orbit on a SpaceX Falcon rocket that launched out of Florida. The number of beats the previous record of 104 satellites carried aloft by an Indian vehicle in 2017.

Read more: World record number of satellites launched

24 January 2021

Communications satellites

Earth observation

Space exploration

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A huge Christmas tree on a flatbed lorry in font of the US Capitol building

US Capitol Christmas tree arrives in DC

Man clinging to a cliff being rescued

Moment person clinging to cliff is rescued by helicopter

Crowds of people walking streets at night

Thousands rush to US border before Trump takes office

Composite image of Donald Trump and Elon Musk alongside the Starship taking off

Trump joins Musk to watch Starship test launch

Firefighters helping people stuck on ride.

Riders stuck midair for hours on California park ride

A multicoloured stream of light emanates from a rocket in the night sky.

SpaceX rocket launch creates stunning light display

Biden stands in front of the podium.

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Pete, Trump and Pam are next to each other.

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Meteor lights up the night sky.

Meteor lights up night sky over parts of US and Canada

Kennedy is speaking a crowd while Trump looks at him.

Trump names vaccine sceptic RFK Jr for health secretary

Smoke is seen from the top of a building.

Watch: Thick smoke billows from New York skyscraper

Police officer smashing sunroof of vehicle submerged in pool

Police bodycam shows man being rescued from submerged car

Sumi Somaskanda stands on the left and Trump stands on the right.

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Flame and smoke billow over train tracks

Watch: Moment large fire explodes on New York train line

Biden is on the left and Trump is on the right.

What we can expect from Trump and Biden's meeting

split screen of building damage and a man

Watch: Drone footage captures Kentucky explosion damage

Truck crashing into parked vehicle narrowly missing worker

Watch: Moment road worker dodges high-speed truck crash

Woman taking picture of a helicopter and wildfire smoke filling the sky

Smoke towers over homes as wildfire spreads near Los Angeles

Vladimir Putin speaking holding a pen

Putin congratulates 'courageous' Trump on election win

Joe Biden wearing a suit holding up a fist

Watch: Biden urges Democrats to 'get back up' after Trump win

Ben Rick in front of weather graphic

Latest forecast as Storm Bert brings floods and gales

BBC Weather's Ben Rich has the latest forecast as the storm continues to bring challenging weather conditions across the UK.

Science & Environment

BBC Scotland's Judith Ralston says there is also a weather warning as high winds are expected to hit the Western Isles and the north-west

Storm Bert brings rain and high winds on Sunday

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning until 07:00 on Sunday for some parts of Scotland

Science & Environment

With some travel disruption, children and dogs have been enjoying the cold weather

Watch: Scotland under a blanket of snow from Storm Bert

Children and dogs have been enjoying the cold weather despite the freezing conditions.

Science & Environment

People in high-vis jackets walk next to a car submerged in floods on the left of a split screen with a snowy road on the right

Atmospheric river dumps snow and record rain on California

The weather event has multiplied damages from the 'bomb cyclone' seen in the US north-west earlier this week.

Science & Environment

A man walks in front of an uprooted tree, the roots of which tower over him

Fallen trees cause widespread damage after bomb cyclone

Two people died in the storm that hit the West coast of the US and Canada overnight.

Science & Environment

A yellow alert for high winds gusting up to 60 mph (97km/h) covers the whole of Scotland

Weather forecast ahead of Storm Ashley

A yellow alert for high winds gusting up to 60 mph (97km/h) covers the whole of Scotland.

Science & Environment

The Hunter's supermoon is seen shining brightly between two buildings, as the moon shines through London's skyline on 17 OCtober

Stargazers around the world catch supermoon

The brightness of the moon would allow ancient communities to increase hunting at this time of year - hence the name.

Science & Environment

SpaceX's Super Heavy booster fires out of its exhaust at the bottom of the rocket itself while it lands into the rocket launcher holder that it fired out of, during SpaceX Starship's fifth flight test, in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S., October 13, 2024

Watch: Why is the latest SpaceX rocket test a big deal?

The BBC's Pallab Ghosh explores why this world first test is a big deal for space exploration.

Science & Environment

SpaceX Starship booster caught in mid air

Watch astonishing moment Starship booster caught in mid-air 'chopsticks manoeuvre'

It’s the first time the "chopsticks manoeuvre" has been attempted, with previous boosters landing in the ocean.

Science & Environment

Split screen showing weather presenter giving remote update and Hurricane Milton satellite image

Meteorologist becomes emotional giving Hurricane Milton update

The weather system has rapidly intensified into a category five storm with winds of up to 175mph (281km/h).

Science & Environment

Suni Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore grin as they float aboard the International Space Station

'Space is my happy place,' says stranded astronaut

Suni Williams and Barry 'Butch' Wilmore gave an update from the ISS on their extended stay in space.

Science & Environment

Sarah Gillis emerges from a capsule into dark space

Watch: Key moments from first non-professional spacewalk

Isaacman said the Earth looked like a "perfect world" as he stepped out into space for the first time.

Science & Environment

Bow of Titanic missing section of railing

Video shows Titanic missing large section of railing

The discovery was made during a series of dives by underwater robots this summer.

Science & Environment

A video grab shows the northern lights (Aurora Borealis) flickering over the earth's surface with the moon setting in the background, and parts of the Internation Space Station (ISS) visible in the foreground. The Earth's curvature can be seen as it rotates

Watch: The Northern Lights seen from space

A timelapse captured from the International Space Station shows the Moon setting into streams of aurora.

Science & Environment

Pink and green Northern Lights hang in the sky above a car in a field

Timelapse shows Northern Lights glowing above Wisconsin

The footage reveals the light show that concurred with the Perseid meteor shower earlier this week.

Science & Environment

The Titan Arum plant took 12 years before it successfully flowered in the venue's Glasshouse in 2015.

Rare 'corpse flower' blooms in botanical gardens

The Titan Arum plant produces a stench that has been compared to decaying flesh or smelly socks.

Science & Environment

Column of fire after rocket sets off from launch pad

Moment Ariane-6 rocket blasts into space on first flight

The vehicle set off from a launchpad in French Guiana on a demonstration mission.

Science & Environment

High winds and waves on coast

High winds and heavy rain as Caribbean hit by hurricane

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall with floods in Barbados, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada.

Science & Environment

Humpback whale's tail

Why scientists are using a crossbow to study whales

Researchers use the device to take remote biopsies from wild humpback whales to monitor their health.

Science & Environment

Female duck and chicks

Duckling family march to safety at Hardwick Hall

The annual duck march has been a tradition at Sedgefield’s Hardwick Hall Hotel for the past 24 years.

Science & Environment