Falcon 9 • Intelsat 40e/TEMPO

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Intelsat 40e communications satellite for Intelsat. Intelsat 40e will join Intelsat’s “Epic” fleet of high-throughput satellites, providing in-flight connectivity and other mobile communications services over North and Central America. Intelsat 40e is a partial replacement for Intelsat 29e, which failed in 2019. Intelsat 40e hosts NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument to measure atmospheric chemistry and monitor air pollution over North America. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The satellite was built by Maxar, and is based on the 1300 platform. Delayed from March 7. Read our launch story.