Hotbird-13F launches aboard Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral - NASASpaceFlight.com - NASASpaceflight.com

The Eutelsat Hotbird-13F geostationary communications outer launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 retired of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Falcon 9 booster 1069-3, which had flown the CRS-24 and Starlink 4-23 missions, launched the Hotbird outer to geostationary transportation orbit.

The motorboat occurred astatine the extremity of the model connected Saturday, Oct. 15 astatine 1:22 AM EDT (05:22 UTC). The Falcon 9 launched owed East into an archetypal parking orbit inclination of 28 degrees from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) connected the grounds of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). This is modular for geosynchronous transportation orbit (GTO) launches.

The Falcon 9, climbing done the nighttime sky, reached maximum dynamic unit (Max Q) astatine the T+1:12 mark. Around T+2:32, the archetypal stage’s main engines chopped disconnected and the 2nd signifier positive the Hotbird payload separated. Shortly thereafter, the fairing halves separated arsenic the signifier continued to orbit.

While the fairing halves targeted for a splashdown and retrieval immoderate 781 kilometers eastbound of Cape Canaveral, B1069 completed its 3rd formation with a landing connected the drone vessel Just Read The Instructions, stationed astir 663 km downrange of the Cape.

The Merlin Vacuum-powered 2nd signifier relit its motor portion implicit the equatorial regions of Africa for 58 seconds to spot the Eutelsat Hotbird payload into its due geostationary transportation orbit. The outer was released to spot itself into its last orbit utilizing its substance reserves and engines.

Eutelsat Hotbird-13F and its sister outer Hotbird-13G are slated to regenerate 3 existing satellites astatine the 13 degrees East longitude geosynchronous orbital slot. These satellites are designed to supply up to 1,000 tv channels, including 4K video, to implicit 160 cardinal homes successful Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.

The Hotbird-13F and 13G satellites, massing 4,500 kilograms each, are equipped with 80 Ku-band transponders. These satellites, designed to run for 15 years, usage all-electric propulsion and person 22 kilowatts of powerfulness capableness provided by 2 ample star panels. The all-electric propulsion strategy enables a reduced motorboat wide for the satellites, which bash not person to transportation ample amounts of liquid fuel.

Both caller Hotbird satellites are built by Airbus Defence and Space. Hotbird 13F was the archetypal outer built nether the European Space Agency’s Eurostar Neo program. This programme was enabled by an ESA Partnership Project with Airbus, which is an effort by ESA to amended European abstraction manufacture innovation and competitiveness successful the satellite market.

Airbus has sold 7 different Eurostar Neo satellites alongside Hotbird-13F. The ESA concern with Airbus is portion of a larger programme known arsenic Neosat. This programme has seen ESA spouse with Thales Alenia Space for their Spacebus Neo satellites, and 16 satellites from some companies successful full resulting from the Neosat programme person been ordered.

Eutelsat’s caller Hotbird satellites were intended to beryllium launched utilizing the Arianespace Ariane 6 motorboat vehicle, but delays for that rocket caused the outer relation to crook to SpaceX. Hotbird-13G is presently scheduled for motorboat connected a Falcon 9 from Florida nary earlier than this November.

The Hotbird-13F motorboat was SpaceX’s 47th Falcon 9 formation this year. The precocious formation cadence is made imaginable by the reuse of Falcon 9’s archetypal stage. After B1069 landed connected the drone vessel Just Read the Instructions connected Dec. 21, 2021, issues securing the booster with the Octagrabber caused harm to the Merlin motor nozzles and landing legs.

B1069 arrived successful larboard with a decided thin to 1 broadside and needed repairs which caused a lengthy turnaround betwixt the CRS-24 formation and its 2nd motorboat successful August 2022. However, the repairs enabled SpaceX to support the booster successful its fleet. This helps to support this year’s grounds formation cadence arsenic payloads volition not request to hold for a caller booster.

Prior to the Hotbird-13F launch, SpaceX flew the Falcon 9 180 times, with 140 palmy landings and 119 full reflights. The institution is readying to motorboat astir 60 flights successful 2022, and B1069’s continued work successful the booster fleet is made much important by the information that aggregate Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy archetypal stages volition beryllium expended during upcoming missions.

(Lead photo: Falcon 9 launches from SLC-40 with Hotbird-13F. Credit: Stephen Marr)