SpaceX rocket launch puts its first commercial satellite into orbit

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 The US company SpaceX has successfully launched its first commercial satellite into orbit. The unmanned Falcon 9 rocket was carrying a communication satellite owned by the company SES, which already operates a 54-satellite fleet. This new satellite will provide television and broadband to SES’s customers across Asia. The launch has been seen as SpaceX staking its claim on a slice of the market, which could be potentially game-changing for the industry. Previous SES satellites have been launched aboard Russian Proton and European rockets, which cost far more than the $55 million dollars paid for its ride on SpaceX’s Falcon booster. The company now needs three successful launches of its upgraded Falcon rocket before it will be eligible to compete to carry the U.S. military’s largest and most expensive satellites, a market now monopolized by United Launch Alliance. The global satellite industry is worth nearly $190 billion a year, with US companies holding a 45 percent market share.