For several years, SpaceX offered a number of promises to the space industry: frequent launches, reusable rockets, and a new heavy-lift vehicle. And, for much of that time, SpaceX struggled to deliver, thanks to delays, technical problems, and two high-profile launch failures. However, 2017 was the year SpaceX really started to carry through. The company entered the year still recovering from its last mishap, the September 2016 pad explosion. The company returned to flight in January, launching the first 10 Iridium Next satellites from California. A month later SpaceX brought Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A, last used at the end of the shuttle program, back to life launching Falcon 9 rockets while repairing the company's Cape Canaveral pad damaged in last year's explosion.
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