Photos: Another SBIRS soars atop Atlas 5

SES, the international communications satellite operator, plans to send two more C-band television broadcasting spacecraft into orbit from Cape Canaveral Friday night atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on a mission that will help clear spectrum for transition to 5G network services.

Resembling a cocooned insect with antennas and appendages tucked snuggly to its body for launch, NASA’s latest communications relay hub will be shot into space Friday to blossom in geosynchronous orbit for routing signals to and from the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope and three dozen science observatories.

The announcement was made by Robert Lightfoot, the ULA Lockheed Martin Board Chair, in a statement on Monday. The board now begins a search for his permanent replacement.