Science
- Elon Musk said in May that SpaceX would launch more orbital missions in 2018 than any nation on Earth.
- Musk's rocket company didn't achieve that goal, as China successfully launched at least 35 rockets.
- But SpaceX broke the world record for most commercial rocket launches in a year, with 20.
- The company still has one more launch remaining on its 2018 manifest.
- Here's a look at every SpaceX mission of 2018, including Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.
This has been SpaceX's most incredible year yet for launching rockets.
In 2018, Elon Musk's aerospace company achieved 20 successful launches. Those missions sent dozens of payloads into orbit, debuted two experimental Starlink internet satellites, and even shot a car past the orbit of Mars.
The company still has one more launch planned for December.
Musk was feeling good enough about SpaceX's 2018 progress in May that he said the company might "launch more rockets than any other country."
That didn't come to pass, since China successfully launched 35 of its Long March orbital rockets in 2018, and the country still has a handful more planned.
But SpaceX did break its own record for the most orbital rocket launches by a single company in a year. The company set that record - 18 launches over a single calendar year - in 2017. (United Launch Alliance held the title prior to that with 16 commercial rockets launched in 2009.)
Here's a look back at every SpaceX rocket launch of 2018, and what made each stand out.