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An improved model of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was launched early Sunday from the Space Coast in Florida, hoisting a 7.8-ton communications satellite for Telesat to more than 22,000 miles above the equator. Falcon 9 229 feet high (70 meters) rocket was released from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Complex 40 on Sunday at 01:50 EDT (0550 GMT).
At the tip of the rocket was the Telstar 19 VANTAGE spacecraft, a Canadian-owned broadband station that set a record for the heavier commercial communications satellite ever launched
. a smooth countdown, and open retaining clips to release the launcher for a punctual takeoff.
Burning a combination of kerosene and liquid oxygen, the main engines of the rocket strangled up to 1.7 million pounds of thrust to send the Falcon 9 into a starr y sky, heading east of Cape Canaveral over the Atlantic Ocean to ship the spacecraft Telstar 19 VANTAGE to its orbit of equatorial operation
Two and a half minutes after takeoff, the engines of the first floor stop and booster Moments before the second floor engine of the Falcon 9 comes on to continue the journey in space.
The first stage completes an accurate landing nearly nine minutes after it descended on SpaceX's drone spacecraft "Of Course I Still Love You" parked in the Atlantic Ocean a few hundred kilometers away. East of Florida. 26th successful rocket recovery. SpaceX is expected to bring the rocket back to Cape Canaveral for inspections, and it will likely see the booster again during a future mission.
Meanwhile, the upper stage engine stopped after reaching a preliminary parking orbit. The rocket, with Telstar 19 VANTAGE still attached, crossed the Atlantic Ocean before relighting its top engine on Africa for a planned 50 second shot to raise its orbit.
After a brief telemetry failure, the SpaceX launch team confirmed the second shot The onboard camera showed a live view of the telecommunications payload that was separating from the top floor near 33 minutes after launch, and an on-board camera showed a live view of the telecom payload nearly 33 minutes after launch. A Telesat spokesperson confirmed that the ground controllers had made contact with the newly launched satellite as planned.
Carrying its own rocket fuel, the satellite of nearly 15,600 pounds (7,075 kilograms) was to be released into an egg-shaped transfer orbit with a perigee, or low point, a few hundreds of miles above Earth and a climax, or climax, somewhere below its final operating altitude of almost 22,300 miles (35,800 kilometers). The spacecraft will use a hydrazine powered engine to finish climbing into a circular geostationary roost on the equator.
In accordance with the company's standard policy, SpaceX has not communicated the exact parameters of the target orbit on Sunday's mission. Other commercial launcher vendors typically publish such data prior to their engagement.
Telecommunication machines intended for geostationary orbit are usually deployed in elliptical transfer orbits with apogee or high points at the final operating altitude of the satellites. But the first leg of the Falcon 9 maintains a fuel reserve for landing maneuvers, reducing the energy and speed of loading the rocket.
The heavy geostationary satellites launched on the Falcon 9 flew on non-recoverable versions of the SpaceX rocket, which devote all their propellant to their payloads. But the most economical alternative is to recover the rocket, limiting its ability to place a satellite in such a high-altitude orbit.
The compromise for satellite owners and manufacturers is that they must charge more fuel into their spacecraft to make up the difference
Several satellite operators have apparently agreed to the arrangement, including Telesat and Hispasat, a Spanish telecommunications company, which has agreed with SpaceX to deploy one of its satellites placed in a sub-stationary transfer orbit in March
Telstar 19 VANTAGE is expected to arrive in geostationary orbit in a few weeks, then enter service at the end of August at 63 degrees west longitude after completing testing and commissioning, as well as deployments of solar panels and antennas.
Satellites in geostationary orbit encircling the planet at the same rate of rotation, keeping the satellite in a locked position with the same geographic position. The geostationary orbit is a popular home for satellites because the orbit allows ground antennas to point to a constant spot in the sky to connect to a telecom spacecraft.
Manufactured by SSL, formerly Space Systems / Loral, in Palo Alto In California, the Telstar 19 VANTAGE satellite became the heaviest commercial telecommunications satellite ever launched, eclipsing a record set by the terrestrial telecom satellite TerreStar 1, which weighed 15,934 pounds (6,910 kilograms) in orbit July 2009
. ] Telstar 19 VANTAGE will operate in the same geostationary slot as the Telstar 14R satellite deployed in 2011, which experienced a failure in one of its solar panels shortly after launch, decreasing its capacity.
Telstar 19 VANTAGE carries Ku band and Ka payloads in band, with coverage ranging from northern Canada to South America for broadband connectivity. The new satellite will also provide airborne Internet services to aircraft traveling on transatlantic routes between North America and Europe, as well as communications in the Caribbean for cruise ships and other ocean-going ships.
"Telstar 19 VANTAGE is a state-of-the-art broadband satellite will be co-implanted with our Telstar 14R satellite to extend our services to the Americas, the Caribbean and the North Atlantic," said Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat "The Satellite Has Ka and Ku Band Combination Capability."
"Ka-Band Capacity for South America Is Already Under Contract with Hughes Network Systems for 15 years and our long-time customer, Bell Canada, has entered into a 15-year contract for almost all of the satellite's Ka-band capacity in northern Canada, which means that the entire capacity of The Ka-band of the satellite serving this region is already under contract. "
Northern Canada's Provider Will Use Telstar 19 VANTAGE Broadband Capacity for the Territory of Nunavut
" Delivering high quality broadband services to remote communities in Canada's vast northern expanses a huge challenge, Chief Operating Officer at Northwestel, in a statement last year, when Bell Canada and Telesat announced their agreement. "Northwestel is eager to use the power and capabilities of Telesat's new Telstar 19 VANTAGE satellite as part of its commitment to connect 25 Nunavut communities to a faster and more reliable broadband over the next two years. "[19659030] Telstar 19 VANTAGE coverage area Credit: Telesat
The capacity of the Ka Band purchased by Hughes will reach customers in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Goldberg says that one-third of the capacity of Ku-band communication of the new satellite was pre-sold
The launch of Sunday was the 58th flight of a Falcon 9 rocket since the first launch version launched in 2010, and the second Falcon 9 mission to use all the latest SpaceX upgrades.
The improved version of the Falcon 9, known as Block 5, first launched on May 11th. Since then, SpaceX has launched three rockets with a mix of upgraded Block 5-generation upgrades and re-launched first-generation first-generation boosters.
Telstar 19 VANTAGE was the second time SpaceX flew a Falcon 9 "all-Block 5" rocket, which improves its performance and reusability.
SpaceX ground crews at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California prepare another Falcon 9 Block 5 for takeoff at 04:39 PDT (07:39 EDT; 1139 GMT) Wednesday with 10 voice satellites and Iridium data relay. Another Falcon 9 launch from Cape Canaveral is scheduled for August 2nd at 1:19 am EDT (0519 GMT) with Telkom Indonesia's Merah Putih communications satellite.
This will be followed by another launch of SpaceX for Telesat, carrying the Telstar 18 VANTAGE spacecraft, no earlier than August 17 from Cape Canaveral
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