Wednesday, January 31, 2018

SpaceX Has Successful Satellite Liftoff of GovSat-1

Hawthorne, California-based SpaceX successfully lifted the GovSat-1 payload into space, and was on the way to delivering the communications satellite into geosynchronous orbit, from Florida on Wednesday afternoon. SpaceX launched the GovSat-1 at 4:25pm EST on Wednesday, January 31st, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), after a one day delay related to a sensor replacement. SpaceX is not recovering the first stage of the Falcon 9 in the launch, most likely due to the geosynchronous orbit target for the satellite. The launch precedes a much more closely watched launch for SpaceX, scheduled for next week, of its Falcon Heavy. SpaceX is midway through the GovSat-1 launch, with the second stage of the vehicle expected to startup soon to deliver the GovSat-1 payload to its final orbit.