Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Launches SES-22 Communications Satellite to Space

An SES 22 communications satellite was launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday. The said satellite will offer C-band television and data services in the United States.

At 5:04 p.m., the rocket blasted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral. On Thursday, June 30, a backup launch chance is accessible inside the same window. According to Fox 35 Orlando, the Falcon 9 first-stage rocket used for this flight was also used to launch one Starlink mission.

SpaceX Falcon 9 Successfully Brings SES-22 Communications Satellite to Space

Florida Today mentioned that SpaceX Falcon 9 launched SES 22 communications satellite into orbit on its fifth mission of the month and 27th of the year for Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES.

Launch Complex 40 served as the launch site for the 230-foot tall rocket's on-time liftoff at 5:04 p.m. ET. United Launch Alliance will launch its Atlas V rocket next to it at Launch Complex 41.

The first stage rocket of the Falcon 9 performed a somersault during SpaceX's flight on Wednesday. The rocket returned for a successful landing on the company's "A Shortfall of Gravitas" drone ship, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, around 8.5 minutes after launch.

The first stage of the rocket separated after lifting it out of the dense lower atmosphere, and while the second stage continued its ascent to space, the first stage made a flawless landing on an offshore barge.

The SES-22 satellite was deployed into an elliptical "transfer" orbit 33 minutes after launch, following two second-stage engine firings.

The satellite will be propelled by onboard engines into a circular geosynchronous orbit 22,300 miles above the equator during the ensuing several weeks. From there, it will spin in time with Earth, enabling the use of fixed antennas on the ground.

In a few days, the drone ship will return with the booster to Port Canaveral. SpaceX will likely repair it and use it again for another flight.

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SES, the payload client for the flight on Wednesday, was the first commercial enterprise to launch with SpaceX in March 2017.

According to SpaceX site host Jessie Anderson, the corporation has successfully launched 103 Falcon 9 booster re-flights since 2017 after launching the SES 22 mission.

About SES-22 Satellite

The first of six satellites that SES has ordered, which Thales Alenia Space built, is called SES-22. It was ordered as part of a Federal Communications Commission initiative to allow emerging 5G broadband networks to use the lower portion of the C-band spectrum, which has previously been used by radio and television relay stations.

To create a place for 5G communications, CBS News said SES-22 and comparable satellites would work in the upper portion of the C-band spectrum. Companies competing for 5G spectrum licenses will pay SES and other existing C-band satellite operators back for the price of developing and launching additional satellites.

"SES 22 is a C-band satellite, so it's part of our program of C-band clearing in the U.S.," Christophe De Hauwer, SES's chief strategy and development officer, told SpaceFlightNow.

 "It's a C-band-only satellite. It will be launched to 135 degrees west, which is the location we are replenishing, from where we will provide mostly TV and radio services over the U.S., but also some data services over the country," he added.

The telecom corporation SES, located in Luxembourg, will run SES-22. SES officials said the satellite will deliver TV and radio to "millions of American homes and provide other critical data transmission services."

"SES-22 is expected to start operations by early August 2022," the company told Space.com.

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