![]() ![]() The nine main engines produced 1.7 million pounds of thrust for about two-and-a-half minutes, propelling the Falcon 9 and Eutelsat’s Hotbird 13G communications satellite into the upper atmosphere. ![]() Once the engines ramped up to full throttle, hydraulic clamps opened to release the Falcon 9 for its climb into space. The two Hotbirds are the first satellites to be built on Airbus’s new Eurostar Neo spacecraft design, incorporating upgrades in propulsion, thermal control, and electrical systems.ĭuring Thursday morning’s countdown, the Falcon 9 launcher was filled with a million pounds of kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants in the final 35 minutes before liftoff.Īfter teams verified technical and weather parameters were all “green” for launch, the nine Merlin 1D main engines on the first stage booster flashed to life with the help of an ignition fluid called triethylaluminum/triethylborane, or TEA-TEB. 15 on a previous SpaceX Falcon 9 mission. Hotbird 13G is the twin satellite of Hotbird 13F, which launched Oct. ![]() Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicted a 90% probability of favorable weather for liftoff, with only a slight chance of cumulus clouds that might create a threat of lightning.īuilt by Airbus, the roughly 10,000-pound (4.5-metric ton) Hotbird 13G spacecraft will beam hundreds of television and radio channels across Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) Falcon 9 was raised vertical on pad 40 Wednesday afternoon ahead of the overnight launch window.įorecasters from the U.S. Ground teams rolled the Falcon 9 to pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Wednesday, the day after SpaceX launched a powerful Falcon Heavy rocket from pad 39A a few miles up the coast. The Falcon 9’s first stage booster landed on a downrange drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. EDT (0522 GMT) Thursday from Cape Canaveral with Eutelsat’s Hotbird 13G television broadcasting satellite. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at 1:22 a.m. ![]()
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