Wednesday, February 8, 2012

SpaceX Sets Satellite Launches

Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies, the commercial rocket firm of Elon Musk, has set the schedule for two upcoming satellite launches, the company announced this morning. SpaceX said that it will launch two satellites for Asia Satellite Telecommunications Company Limited (AsiaSat) in 2014, from Cape Canaveral. The firm said the launch of the two communications satellites (AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8) will be in the first half of 2014. SpaceX reports it now has a manifest of 40 launches on its schedule, with 60 percent of those representing commercial launches. Details of the financials behind the latest win were not announced. SpaceX is backed by venture firms the Founders Fund, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Valor Equity Partners. The company is currently in the midst of re-scheduling its first docking with the International Space Station.