SpaceX has launched its first geostationary satellite to transfer orbit after upgrading its Falcon 9 rocket following September’s second-stage engine issue.
The SES-8 spacecraft was successfully lofted yesterday after two attempts the week before were…
SpaceX has launched its first geostationary satellite to transfer orbit after upgrading its Falcon 9 rocket following September’s second-stage engine issue.
The SES-8 spacecraft was successfully lofted yesterday after two attempts the week before were scrubbed over technical glitches.
It marks SpaceX’s entry into commercial service as it starts to work through the nearly 50 missions on its manifest – of which more than 60% are for commercial customers. SES, which reportedly paid less than US$60m for the inaugural flight, has three more of the rockets under contract.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said: “The successful insertion of the SES-8 satellite confirms the upgraded Falcon 9 launch vehicle delivers to the industry’s highest performance standards. As always, SpaceX remains committed to delivering the safest, most reliable launch vehicles on the market today. We appreciate SES’s early confidence in SpaceX and look forward to launching additional SES satellites in the years to come.”
The launch also marks the second of three certification flights that it needs to take part in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) programme, a key US government contract that is currently dominated by Boeing/Lockheed Martin JV United Launch Alliance.
According to SpaceX, all of the rocket’s systems worked as planned, including the second engine restart that is needed to climb further away from the Earth.
Back in September, an earlier version of the rocket that was placing the Canadian Space Agency’s Cassiope research satellite failed to reignite in a test of the capability, although the bird was deployed successfully prior to this.
The company blamed the problem on a frozen igniter fluid line, which was later insulated for the upgraded Falcon 9.
SES-8 was built by Orbital Sciences and will target Asia with its 33 Ku-band transponders. With permission from The Netherlands, it will be co-located with the operator’s NSS-6 at 95E for DTH, VSAT and government applications.
Romain Bausch, CEO of SES, said: “SES’s maiden launch on board a Falcon 9 rocket is yet another example of our company’s spirit of innovation and advancement of the commercial space industry. We congratulate the SpaceX team for the success of a challenging launch campaign and our longstanding supplier Orbital for innovating with us in exploring new paths to orbit while delivering a brand-new, state-of-the-art satellite for Asia.”
As SpaceX builds on its legacy, the private company has vowed to shake up the launch services market in competition with heavyweights Arianespace of France and Russia’s International Launch Services.
But in an interview with French newspaper Les Echos last month, Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël played down talk of an upheaval in the sector.
“As far as I know, they have nine geostationary satellites in their order book, compared with 35 for Arianespace after a record-breaking year of order intake,” he said.
According to Israël, SpaceX would take years to equal Arianespace’s success rate as he claimed the Ariane 5 launcher was the most reliable in the world.
He did, however, reaffirm that the company was looking at its price policy as it adapts to new competition.
