SES – Page 12 – Spaceflight Now

Falcon 9 rocket to give SES 9 telecom satellite an extra boost

February 24, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX and SES, owner of a 5.8-ton commercial telecom satellite poised for launch from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, struck a deal to tweak the Falcon 9 rocket’s launch profile to give the SES 9 spacecraft a stronger push toward its operating post more than 22,000 miles above Earth.

SES eager to fly satellite aboard used Falcon 9 rocket

February 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

In one of the strongest public endorsements of SpaceX’s initiative to put a reusable launcher on the commercial market, a top official from satellite communications giant SES said Tuesday that the company wants to fly one of its pricey payloads on a used Falcon 9 rocket, perhaps even without a test flight.

Q&A with Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer at SES

February 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

The chief technology officer of SES, operator of the world’s largest commercial geostationary satellite fleet, spoke with reporters on the eve of the launch of the company’s SES 9 communications craft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.

Flight timeline for Falcon 9’s launch of SES 9

February 23, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff from Cape Canaveral on Thursday evening, heading due east over the Atlantic Ocean to deliver the SES 9 television broadcast satellite into orbit 31 minutes later.

Falcon 9 clears static fire test before launch this week

February 22, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s launch team in Cape Canaveral fueled a Falcon 9 rocket with super-chilled liquid propellants and briefly fired the first stage’s nine Merlin engines Monday in a customary preflight test ahead of Wednesday’s scheduled liftoff of a commercial television broadcasting satellite for the Asia-Pacific.

SES says SpaceX will launch its satellite in late February

February 9, 2016 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next launch from Cape Canaveral is set for Feb. 24, when a Falcon 9 rocket will carry a commercial television broadcasting satellite aloft for Luxembourg-based SES, the payload’s owner announced Monday.

Falcon 9’s near-term manifest coming into focus

December 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s launch of a cluster of communications satellites for Orbcomm, set for as soon as next weekend, holds the headlines, but the company’s Falcon 9 rocket could fly at least four times in the next two months, assuming smooth launch campaigns and no glitches.

Orbcomm first in Falcon 9’s return-to-flight launch queue

October 18, 2015 Stephen Clark

Going with a philosophy that favors incremental testing of an upgraded version of the Falcon 9 booster, SpaceX officials said Friday that eleven mini-satellites for Orbcomm’s data relay business will fly on the company’s first mission since a launch failure in June.

First static fire completed on upgraded Falcon 9

September 25, 2015 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s upgraded Falcon 9 booster powered up to full throttle in a brief ignition at the company’s Central Texas test site this week as engineers prepare for the rocket’s return to flight as soon as mid-November with a European communications satellite.

Satellite owners among bystanders in Falcon 9 accident

June 29, 2015 Stephen Clark

The long queue of satellites waiting on launches aboard SpaceX’s Falcon rockets — a backlog the company says is worth $7 billion — will stay grounded while investigators determine what caused a Falcon 9 booster to disintegrate after liftoff Sunday.