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SpaceX launches a large communications satellite into orbit

  • May 27, 2023
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SpaceX may attempt to put a large telecommunications satellite into orbit early Saturday morning, May 27, and if it does, you’ll be able to watch the action live.

SpaceX launches a large communications satellite into orbit

SpaceX may attempt to put a large telecommunications satellite into orbit early Saturday morning, May 27, and if it does, you’ll be able to watch the action live. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Arabsat BADR-8 satellite is scheduled to take off from the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday night, May 23.

Bad weather forced SpaceX to delay the attempt until the end of the 127-minute window, but that wasn’t enough; The team canceled the launch, citing “unfavorable weather”, about 3.5 minutes before the end of the countdown time. The attempt, scheduled for May 24, was delayed due to the need for additional tests of the missiles.

The next possible launch window pops up, again lasting 127 minutes Saturday, May 27, 12:30 PM ET (4:30 am GMT). The broadcast is expected to begin approximately 15 minutes before the launch.

If all goes according to plan, Falcon 9’s first stage will return safely to Earth approximately eight minutes and 45 seconds after takeoff. The thruster will land on SpaceX’s Just Read the Instructions drone ship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida.

According to SpaceX’s mission statement, this will be the 14th mission for this first stage of Falcon 9. These previous flights include two special astronaut missions: Inspiration4 in September 2021 and Ax-1 in April 2022.

Ax-1, operated by Houston-based Axiom Space, sent four people to the International Space Station over the course of about two weeks. SpaceX launched its second Axiom mission, Ax-2, by sending four crew members to the orbiting laboratory on a Falcon 9 on Sunday, May 22. By the way, fourteen flights is not a SpaceX reuse record. The current mark 15 was set during a mission that launched multiple Starlink Internet satellites last December.

Source: Port Altele

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