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‘Let the American broomstick fly’: SpaceX launch appears to take jab at head of Russian Space Agency

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — SpaceX’s 10th launch in as many weeks came with a little extra message: “Time to let the American broomstick fly and hear the sounds of freedom. L-D is go for launch.”

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The SpaceX Starlink mission sent 48 internet satellites into orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station atop an American-built Falcon 9.

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Just last week, the head of the Russian Space Agency, Roscosmos, announced Russia would no longer be supplying rocket engines to the U.S., reportedly telling Russian television, “Let them fly on something else, their broomsticks, I don’t know what.”

“That broomstick is working perfect, that broomstick took off and landed,” said Dr. Ken Kremer with Space UpClose.

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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk recently tweeted that his company was reprioritizing to cyber defense and overcoming signal jamming. The company has sent a number of Starlink terminals to war-ravaged Ukraine with a warning that the systems could be targeted.

SpaceX has two crewed launches to the International Space Station coming up: a private mission launching at the end of this month and a Commercial Crew mission for NASA.

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Adam Poulisse, WFTV.com

Adam Poulisse joined WFTV in November 2019.