Once in geostationary orbit next year, Eutelsat 10B will steer itself to an operating position along the equator at 10 degrees east longitude.
Homsy declined to say how much, if anything, Eutelsat paid SpaceX for the additional performance from the Falcon 9 on the Eutelsat 10B mission.
#SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCH LIVE FULL#
“The reason why Eutelsat choose an expendable booster for this mission is because of the mass of the satellite, which requires the full capacity of fuel and extra performance of the Falcon 9 rocket and a proper orbit injection,” Homsy told Spaceflight Now in response to written questions. 12 mission lofted two communications satellites for Intelsat, which said it paid a premium for the extra performance from the Falcon 9, resulting in the booster’s disposal in the Atlantic Ocean. 1 and a Falcon 9 booster on a mission Nov. The expendable Falcon 9 mission marked the third time this month that SpaceX has disposed of a Falcon rocket booster, following the intentional disposals of a core stage on a Falcon Heavy rocket Nov. Based on Thales’ Spacebus Neo satellite platform, Eutelsat 10B will use plasma thrusters for the orbit adjustments needed to circularize its orbit at geostationary altitude 22,000 miles over the equator, where it will circle Earth in lock-step with the planet’s rotation.Įutelsat 10B’s total launch mass is about 5.5 metric tons, or roughly 12,000 pounds, a Thales spokesperson told Spaceflight Now on Monday. Credit: Thales Alenia SpaceĪ spokesperson for Thales Alenia Space, the manufacturer of Eutelsat 10B, said the deployment of the satellite into a super synchronous transfer orbit will shorten the time needed for it to reach its final operational geostationary orbit by about 10 days. Artist’s concept of the Eutelsat 10B satellite with its antennas and solar arrays deployed in orbit. SpaceX still planned to retrieve the two halves of the Falcon 9 rocket’s payload fairing for refurbishment and reuse. That allowed the Falcon 9’s second stage engine to place the Eutelsat 10B satellite into a higher orbit than would have otherwise been possible. Instead of reserving some of its propellant for landing on a drone ship, the Falcon 9’s first stage booster burned its nine main engines a few seconds longer than usual, giving an extra burst of speed to the rocket’s upper stage. The target apogee for the Eutelsat 10B mission at spacecraft deployment was above 37,000 miles, or about 60,000 kilometers, according to Pascal Homsy, Eutelsat’s chief technical officer. The rocket aimed to release the spacecraft into a “super synchronous” transfer orbit with an apogee, or farthest point from Earth, well above Eutelsat 10B’s final operating altitude of 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers). But bad weather prevented liftoff of that flight from Kennedy Space Center, delaying the mission until Saturday.Įutelsat 10B deployed from the Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage about 35 minutes after launch. The launch company had an agreement with Eutelsat to dedicate all of the Falcon 9’s lift capability to sending the Eutelsat 10B satellite into as high of an orbit as possible, without reserving and propellant on the first stage for landing maneuvers.Ī few miles north of pad 40, SpaceX intended to launch a Falcon 9 rocket earlier Tuesday to begin a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.
SpaceX did not attempt to recover the first stage of the 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 rocket. And SpaceX defied the odds Tuesday night after forecasters predicted a 90% chance of unacceptable weather conditions for launch. Eutelsat 10B is heading toward a perch in geostationary orbit to beam communications signals across a coverage zone from the North Atlantic to Asia, employing more than 100 spot beams to connect airline and cruise ship passengers, maritime crews, and other users on-the-go.Ī launch attempt Monday night was scrubbed a couple of hours before liftoff to “allow for additional pre-flight checkouts,” SpaceX said. EST Tuesday (0257 GMT Wednesday) from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The Eutelsat 10B satellite lifted off on top of a Falcon 9 rocket at 9:57 p.m.
#SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET LAUNCH LIVE SERIES#
The mission completed a series of four major satellite launches for Eutelsat since early September. SpaceX’s oldest active Falcon 9 rocket booster, in service since 2018, made its final flight Tuesday night to deliver a Eutelsat broadband communications satellite into orbit on a mission to provide internet services to airplanes and ships across the North Atlantic, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
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