In what is set to be the most prolific launch month ever for SpaceX, the Hawthorne rocket maker on Friday pulled off a flawless eighth launch of 2017, delivering to orbit Bulgaria’s first major commercial communications satellite.
The 12:10 p.m. PDT BulgariaSat1 liftoff from Cape Canaveral’s Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39-A took to clear skies without a hitch and was outside Earth’s atmosphere within five minutes. The satellite, built by Palo Alto-based SSL, was released into geostationary transfer orbit at 12:45 p.m. It will deliver high-quality pay-TV to homes in the Balkans and neighboring regions.
“SSL has a history of working closely with new satellite operators to help them move their businesses forward,” SSL President John Celli said in a company statement. “It has been a pleasure to help Bulgaria Sat reach this milestone of ordering its first satellite, which will help expand connectivity in the region, bringing the latest in up-to-date information and entertainment.”
For the second time this year, SpaceX reused a rocket booster to deliver its payload to orbit. The reused equipment allows the company to charge even less than its already-reduced delivery costs compared to public-sector providers.
The rocket booster — one of the Falcon 9’s two stages — returned to land off the coast of Florida on a specially designed at-sea barge named “Of Course I Still Love You.”
This was the booster’s second trip to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. It was first launched from the West Coast on Jan. 14, making it the first booster to launch and land on both coasts.
The company hopes to soon turn around first-stage boosters for reflight almost immediately, as it works to expand affordable commercial space access.
On Jan. 14, the first 10 Iridium next-generation satellites were carried to orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base near Lompoc to replace the company’s existing in-space network. The first-stage rocket booster returned to the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, landing gently on a drone ship.
An hour before Friday’s launch, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk tweeted that “Falcon 9 will experience its highest ever re-entry force and heat in today’s launch.”
He added: “Good chance rocket booster doesn’t make it back.”
After its return, Musk tweeted that the 16-story-tall booster was “extra toasty and hit the deck hard, but (is) otherwise good.”
SpaceX’s next launch — its ninth of the year — is scheduled at 1:24 p.m. Sunday at Vandenberg Air Force Base. That will carry the second of 10 installments for Iridium’s massive communications-satellite refresh.
