Cape Canaveral, Florida – SpaceX A veteran Falcon 9 rocket blasted off into space Sunday (June 6) on its third flight to put a massive radio satellite into orbit for Sirius XM before returning to Earth.
the two stages Falcon 9 The rocket lifted off at 12:26 a.m. EDT (0426 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, marking the company’s 18th launch of the year. I got pregnant SXM-8 digital radio satellite It is about the client Sirius XM.
About 9 minutes later, the first stage of the booster returned to Earth and landed on one of two unmanned SpaceX craft called “Just Read The Instructions” stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The launch took place at the start of a window of nearly two hours.
“The Falcon 9 has landed,” SpaceX’s Jesse Anderson said during the launch webcast. “Today marks the 87th successful mass recovery of an orbital missile.”
Related: Watch the development of SpaceX rockets in pictures
The mission was SpaceX’s second launch in just three days from the Florida space coast. While Falcon 9 exploded otherwise From Pad 39A at the nearby Kennedy Space Center on Thursday afternoon (June 3). Payload: a gumdrop-shaped cargo compartment en route to the International Space Station Arrived at the orbital laboratory on Saturday morning To deliver 7300 pounds. (3,311 kg) of scientific equipment and supplies.
Forecasters from the 45th Space Delta Squadron have forecast only a 60% chance of favorable launch conditions due to residual cloud cover left by some storms late Saturday night. Despite the odds, SpaceX was able to launch it on time.
The cloud layer provided great images as the sky glowed orange as the rocket climbed through the clouds on its way to orbit.
triple space
For this mission, the 70-meter Falcon 9 successfully launched the Sirius XM-8 (SXM-8) high-powered broadcasting satellite into orbit. Designed by Maxar Technologies for Sirius XM, it is one of two satellites launched by SpaceX to replace older satellites currently in orbit.
The first stage of the booster rocket, after three successful launches and landings under its belt, landed on the unmanned SpaceX “Reading Instructions” ship, which was waiting in the Atlantic Ocean. This marks the 87th recovery of a first-stage batch for the California-based rocket manufacturer.
The rocket that appeared before sunrise on Sunday is another historic booster. Known as B1061, this flight-proven booster brought two different crews of astronauts to the space station, marking the first time humans have flown on a reused booster. That historical mission Launched from the Kennedy Space Center on April 23. The missile’s first flight was codenamed Crew-1. Launched in November 2020.
On this third flight, it replaced its 15,432-pound payload. (7000 kg) satellite orbiting Sirius XM. The satellite will send more than 8000 watts of content to Sirius subscribers in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. This is the second such satellite to be launched by SpaceX on behalf of Sirius, and the first (SXM-7) will be launched in December 2020.
That satellite was declared lost I experienced a loading failure earlier this year during a maneuver to raise the track. Sirius confirmed the failure in January, and in a recent earnings report released in April, it said it had secured $225 million in insurance coverage for the satellite that covered its launches and its first year. Sirius expects to file a claim for the missing satellite and wants to build a new satellite to replace the SXM-7.
The company says the loss will not affect its satellite radio services and that the SXM-7 satellite is expected to replace the XM-3 satellite launched in 2005. Sirius aims to replace the SXM-7 and SXM-8 satellites XM 3 and XM-4, but these satellites are still operational and have a life expectancy of several years. (There is also a reserve in orbit, the XM-5, which can be refilled if needed.)
Officials have not disclosed whether changes were made to the SXM-8 after the loss of the other satellite.
Both were dependent on Maxar TechnologiesThe SSL-1300 satellite carrier is designed to operate in the S-band range and is equipped with two large solar panels and batteries for in-orbit storage. The large, deployable S-band antennas designed by L3 broadcast the signal to Sirius customers.
The launch of the SiriusXM SXM-8 satellite continues a busy series of launches for SpaceX.
In May, the company launched four different Starlink missions, bringing the total number of broadband satellites launched to 1,737.
Sunday’s flight is the second so far in June, and two more are scheduled for later this month. One of these missions will launch an updated GPS III satellite for the US Space Force. It will be the first military payload to fly on a recycled missile.
To prepare for this flight, SpaceX tested the veteran booster Thursday morning (June 3) before launching the Dragon cargo mission at an adjacent launch pad. After testing, the missile was transported back to the hangar to be attached to its payload.
SoaceX will attempt to restore the aerodynamics of the rocket after it is tossed in flight. The shell-like devices are designed to protect the payload while the missile is flying through the atmosphere.
To enable this kind of reuse, SpaceX has deployed two boats that usually carry Dragon capsules. Both GO Searcher and GO Navigator are located in the designated recovery area, waiting to get the dropped achievements.
The company used to rely on a handful of just-ready boats to take back the cruise, either by catching them in the air or taking them out of the water. However, SpaceX has since improved its recovery technologies and improved payload aerodynamics to better withstand ocean subsidence.
As a result, the company abandoned its mid-air strategy and instead opted to take the aerodynamics out of the water after each flight.
SpaceX’s next step is to launch an improved GPS satellite for the US military. This mission is scheduled to take off June 17 from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
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