SpaceX - SES-8 & Falcon 9 Mission patch.
Dec. 4, 2013
Image above: A SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket launches the SES-8 commercial communications satellite into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Dec. 3, 2013. The mission is SpaceX's first commercial satellite launch into a geostationary transfer orbit. (Photo: SpaceX).
The launch was an achievement for SpaceX's plans to provide reliable and affordable launch services to commercial satellite operators and governments.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up the night sky over Florida Tuesday, Dec. 3, in a landmark communications satellite mission that catapulted the private spaceflight company into the commercial launch business.
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket & SES-8 in historic commercial mission
The upgraded Falcon 9 rocket launched into space from SpaceX's pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a mission to deliver the 3.2-ton SES-8 communications satellite into orbit. The liftoff at 5:41 p.m. EST (2241 GMT) marked SpaceX's first entry into the large commercial satellite market and its first launch into a geostationary transfer orbit needed for such a mission.
The launch also marked the first flight of SpaceX's enhanced Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket from Florida and came after two aborted attempts last week due to technical glitches, making the third time the charm for the upgraded rocket design.
"We've had a great launch today," SpaceX Falcon 9 product manager John Insprucker said just after liftoff.
Another major milestone for SpaceX occurred 27 minutes after liftoff, when the two-stage Falcon 9 rocket reignited its second stage for a maneuver that delivered the SES-8 satellite into its intended orbit. An attempt to perform the maneuver during a September test flight of the upgraded Falcon 9 failed due to a frozen igniter fluid line, a glitch SpaceX engineers fixed with the addition of insulation to the affected system.
"Spacecraft separation confirmed!" SpaceX officials wrote in a Twitter post 33 minutes after launch. "SES-8 is now in its targeted GEO transfer orbit."
SES-8 satellite
SpaceX's billionaire CEO and founder Elon Musk was exultant.
"Restart was good, apogee raised to 80k km (50k miles). Yes!!!" Musk wrote on Twitter.
The 6,918-lb. (3,138 kilograms) SES-8 satellite was placed in a transfer orbit that ranges between 183 miles (295 kilometers) above Earth at its nearest point and 49,709 miles (80,000 km) at its highest point. The satellite is a hybrid Ku-and Ka-band spacecraft built to provide high-definition telecommunications services to SES World Skies customers across the South Asia and Pacific region.
The smooth launch is a landmark achievement for SpaceX's plans to provide reliable and affordable launch services to commercial satellite operators and government space agencies.
SpaceX has already demonstrated the dependability of its baseline Falcon 9 rocket with the repeated launch success of its unmanned Dragon space capsule. Today's mission marked SpaceX's seventh Falcon 9 launch since 2010, all of them successful.
For more information about SpaceX, visit: http://www.spacex.com/
Images, Video, Text, Credits: SpaceX / Tariq Malik.
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