SpaceX scrubs SES-16 launch
January 31, 2018
By Chris Forrester
A planned launch of SES-16/GovSat-1 was scrubbed by SpaceX on January 30th.
SpaceX said that it would replace a 2nd stage sensor in the Falcon 9 rocket. The launch was re-scheduled for the same time on January 31st, at 16.25 Florida time, 21.25 UTC).
The SES-16 satellite carries an important additional element, called GovSat-1, a joint-venture between SES and the Luxembourg government, which has a governmental and military communications mission.
The communications payload aboard GovSat-1 consists of X-band and Ka-band transponders, incorporating anti-jamming capabilities, with bandwidth equivalent to sixty-eight 36 megahertz units. The spacecraft will be situated in geostationary orbit at a longitude of 21.5 degrees East, providing coverage of Europe, Africa and the Middle East, as well as the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas.