BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of communications satellites Saturday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The launch lit up the sun-setting sky at 7:05 p.m., the start of the launch window, and comes after two delays Thursday and Friday, respectively.
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Space officials, who initially targeted Friday for a second launch attempt, said they need “additional time for vehicle checkouts.”
Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/u8f8lXcW0e
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 8, 2022
SpaceX announced the launch Thursday would be aborted 30 seconds prior to its scheduled liftoff time.
According to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, there was a “tiny helium leak,” which may have posed a risk to the communications satellites being sent into space.
Falcon 9’s first stage has landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship - the 14th launch and landing of this booster! pic.twitter.com/ywUWHBn8qE
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) October 8, 2022
The G-33/G-44 mission carried its namesake to orbit, two Intelsat satellites — the Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 — that the satellite services provider stated on its website are critical to its “C-band clearing strategy” in the U.S., reported by SpaceNews as its mission to further speed up the rollout of 5G networks.
Today’s the day! Galaxy 33 (top) and 34 (bottom) are stacked and ready for launch. Follow the countdown: https://t.co/ZZIRKA7dvY pic.twitter.com/RE3Zyb4N2L
— Intelsat (@INTELSAT) October 6, 2022
B1060, the booster used in the mission, landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas autonomous drone ship following its 14th flight, according to Space Launch Schedule.
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