Update at 9:30 PM ET: SpaceX has delayed the launch of the Eutelsat 10B satellite by 24 hours, no later than Tuesday, November 22, to allow more time for additional checks on the mission’s Falcon 9 rocket. Takeoff remains set for 9:57 PM EST (0257 November 23 GMT). The delay means the launch will now take off about 6 hours after SpaceX launched its new Dragon cargo ship to NASA’s International Space Station.
SpaceX is launching a communications satellite for aircraft and sea internet services, and you can watch the action live.
SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 For the launch of the Eutelsat 10B mission on behalf of Eutelsat Tuesday (November 22) at 9:57 PM EST (0257 on November 23 GMT). Live coverage will be available here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, about 15 minutes before liftoff.
The mission will start from Cape Canaveral Space Station in coastal Florida; The first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket is expected to land on a nearby unmanned ship, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, about 10 minutes after liftoff. This will be the eleventh launch of the Falcon 9 first stage, according to SpaceX.
The first stage of the Falcon 9 booster in support of this mission has previously launched Telstar 18 Vantage, Iridium-8 and 8. Starlink missions,” SpaceX officials wrote from the missile. (Starlink is SpaceX’s string of broadband internet satellites, with more than 3,000 currently active in orbit.)
Pictures: SpaceX rocket evolution
During launch, Eutelsat 10B will be placed into a geostationary transfer orbit to make its way to geosynchronous orbitwhich means that it will orbit the Earth in such a way that it is constantly staring at one part of the planet below.
Eutelsat 10B will include a high-capacity communications payload in the Ku-band “in the busiest air and sea traffic areas” over the North Atlantic, Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and the Middle East, Eutelsat officials wrote (Opens in a new tab) the mission. A second Ku-band payload will be available for the Atlantic, African and Indian Oceans.
Eutelsat officials stated that the satellite also carries C-beam and Ku-band payloads for existing customers on Eutelsat 10A. The new satellite will replace the 12-year-old Eutelsat 10A satellite, which is expected to enter end of service in 2023 for customers in the Americas and Asia.
Elizabeth Howell is co-author of “Why am I taller (Opens in a new tab)? (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book on space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @employee (Opens in a new tab). Follow us on Twitter @employee (Opens in a new tab) or Facebook (Opens in a new tab).
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