A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket pierced clouds above Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Saturday, opening off Memorial Day weekend in Space Coast style.
The 230-foot rocket launched a commercial communications satellite for Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat at 12:30 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 40. After 37 minutes, the 10,000-pound satellite split from the rocket's second stage.
The 162-foot first stage landed on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship, SpaceX's 195th successful landing. Saturday's flight was the booster's 14th. Ship and booster should return to Port Canaveral early next week.
The 162-foot first stage landed on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship, SpaceX's 195th successful landing.
Saturday's flight was the booster's 14th. Ship and booster should return to Port Canaveral early next week.
Arabsat's BADR-8 satellite, developed by Airbus in France, will provide TV, broadband internet, and more to the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and Central Asia. It replaces the 2008 BADR-6 satellite.
Saturday's Space Coast launch was the 26th of the year. If the trend continues, the region will have at least twice that amount by 2023.
Another Falcon 9 rocket will launch early Thursday, June 1. SpaceX expects to launch the rocket from Launch Complex 40 between 6 and 10 a.m. EDT. A drone ship will dock in the Atlantic to launch the latest Starlink broadband satellites to low-Earth orbit.
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