Watch SpaceX launch new communications satellite on Tuesday (November 22)
Update for 9:30 PM ET: SpaceX has delayed the launch of the Eutelsat 10B satellite by 24 hours, no earlier than Tuesday, November 22, to allow more time for additional checks on the mission’s Falcon 9 rocket. Takeoff remains set for 21:57 EST (0257 Nov 23 GMT). The delay means the launch will begin about 6 hours after SpaceX launches a new Dragon cargo ship to the International Space Station for NASA.
SpaceX is launching a communications satellite for internet services on planes and at sea, and you can watch the event live.
SpaceX will use a Falcon 9 rocket to launch the Eutelsat 10B mission on behalf of Eutelsat on Tuesday (November 22) at 21:57 EST (0257 November 23 GMT). The live broadcast will be available here on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, approximately 15 minutes before liftoff.
The mission will start from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in coastal Florida; the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket is expected to touch down with a nearby unmanned ship located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 10 minutes after liftoff. This will be the 11th launch for this Falcon 9 first stage, according to SpaceX.
“The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched Telstar 18 Vantage, Iridium-8 and eight Starlink missions”, SpaceX representatives wrote of the rocket. (Starlink is SpaceX’s series of broadband internet satellites, with more than 3,000 active currently in orbit.)
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During launch, Eutelsat 10B will be placed into a geostationary transfer orbit to make its way to geosynchronous orbitwhich means it will orbit the Earth in such a way that it is constantly looking at one part of the planet from below.
Eutelsat 10B will include a high-capacity Ku-band communications payload “in the busiest air and maritime traffic areas” over the North Atlantic, Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, Eutelsat employees write (opens in new tab) of the mission. A second Ku-band payload will be available for the Atlantic Ocean, Africa and the Indian Ocean.
The satellite also carries two broadband C- and Ku-band payloads for existing Eutelsat 10A customers, Eutelsat officials said. The new satellite will replace the 12-year-old Eutelsat 10A, which is expected to end its service in 2023 for customers in the Americas and Asia.
Elizabeth Howell co-authored “Why am I taller? (opens in new tab)?” (ECW Press, 2022; with Canadian astronaut Dave Williams), a book about space medicine. Follow her on Twitter @howellspace (opens in new tab). Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in new tab) or Facebook (opens in new tab).
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