SpaceX Successfully Launched Falcon 9, Its Latest Communication Satellite Off Florida Coast [VIDEO]
SpaceX, the private company has successfully launched the commutations satellite Echo Star 23 through Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Mar. 16. The launch initially scheduled for Tuesday was postponed due to high winds in the area.
An interesting fact is that SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 does not have fuel to return safely back to earth's surface. "This morning's launch could be one of the last expendable launches SpaceX does for a while", tweeted SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
SpaceX took the launch pad LC 39A of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for lease for 20 years to launch commercial satellites as per contract. The Echo Star 23 will orbit 23000 miles above Earth's surface and provide communication to Brazil, as per The Verge. This launch pad LC 39A of KSC was used for several historic space missions like Apollo 11 that took Neil Armstrong to the moon.
However, SpaceX confirmed that this was the last use of Falcon 9 rocket and in future, they will be a bigger and heavier rocket, called Block 5, which will use to place satellites in the earth's orbit. Block 5 rocket is essentially 3 times bigger in size and payload capacity over Falcon 9 and can reach higher orbits.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched its 26th member of Echo Star's family. The satellite manufactured by Space Systems/Loral was positioned 45 degrees west longitude above Brazil to gives seamless internet, communication and broadcasting services, reveals SPACE.
SpaceX has initially planned to launch in Oct. 2016 but the launch was aborted due to an accident at its Cape Carnival Air Force Station launch pad on Sep 1, 2016. The damage was very huge and the repair of the launch pad will commence only in summer 2017. Until such time, Space X will use the KSC LC 39A in its future launches. SpaceX record of successful launches stood at 29 out of 31 attempts, since its inception in 2010.