SpaceX launches telecom satellite, lands rocket on ship at sea - Space.com

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches Eutelsat's Hotbird 13F outer to orbit connected Oct. 15, 2022. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX launched a communications outer and landed a rocket connected a vessel astatine oversea aboriginal Saturday (Oct. 15), conscionable hours aft bringing 4 astronauts location from the International Space Station.

A Falcon 9 rocket carrying Eutelsat's Hotbird 13F outer lifted disconnected from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station connected Saturday astatine 1:22 a.m. EDT (0522 GMT), astatine the precise extremity of the mission's astir two-hour window.

The Falcon 9's archetypal signifier returned to Earth conscionable nether 9 minutes aft launch, landing connected SpaceX's Just Read the Instructions droneship, which was stationed successful the Atlantic Ocean disconnected the Florida coast.

It was the 3rd motorboat and landing for this peculiar archetypal stage, according to a SpaceX ngo description (opens successful caller tab). The booster besides helped motorboat SpaceX's CRS-24 cargo ngo to the International Space Station successful December 2021 and 1 batch of the company's Starlink net satellites.

The Falcon 9's precocious stage, meanwhile, continued carrying Hotbird 13F to orbit. The outer — which was built by Airbus Defense and Space and volition beryllium operated by France-based Eutelsat — was deployed connected docket astir 36 minutes aft liftoff.

Hotbird 13F is bound for geostationary orbit, astir 22,300 miles (35,900 kilometers) supra Earth. The spacecraft and its twin, Hotbird G, are slated to regenerate 3 different Hotbird spacecraft, which presently supply 1,000 tv channels to much than 160 cardinal homes successful Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, according to Eutelsat (opens successful caller tab). Hotbird G volition besides thrust a Falcon 9 to orbit, possibly arsenic aboriginal arsenic adjacent month.

Saturday morning's liftoff came little than 9 hours aft SpaceX's Crew-4 astronaut ngo for NASA returned to Earth from the abstraction station. Crew-4's Dragon capsule, named Freedom, splashed down disconnected the seashore of Jacksonville, Florida, connected Friday (Oct. 14) astatine 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT).

Editor's note: This communicative was updated astatine 2:15 a.m. EDT connected Oct. 15 with quality of palmy launch, rocket landing and outer deployment.

Mike Wall is the writer of "Out There (opens successful caller tab)" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a publication astir the hunt for alien life. Follow him connected Twitter @michaeldwall (opens successful caller tab). Follow america connected Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens successful caller tab) or on Facebook (opens successful caller tab).

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Michael Wall is simply a Senior Space Writer with Space.com (opens successful caller tab) and joined the squad successful 2010. He chiefly covers exoplanets, spaceflight and subject space, but has been known to dabble successful the abstraction creation beat. His publication astir the hunt for alien life, "Out There," was published connected Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a subject writer, Michael worked arsenic a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. successful evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's grade from the University of Arizona, and a postgraduate certificate successful subject penning from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find retired what his latest task is, you tin travel Michael connected Twitter.

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