On March 30, the company launched one of its launch vehicles into the orbital space mission for the first time. You can watch this historic launch on video.
According to the plan, the SES-10 communications satellite launches on a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket at 6:27 pm ET from the Kennedy NASA (Florida) Space Center. You can trace the space flight, including an attempt to land the first stage of the launch vehicle.
For the concrete first stage of the Falcon 9, this will become the second orbital flight. In April 2016, the launch vehicle helped launch the capsule of the Dragon Space spacecraft to the International Space Station. 8 minutes after the launch, she descended to land on a robotic unmanned ship in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX representatives said that at the first stage, an attempt would be made to land another unmanned ship.
Such landings are part of SpaceX's development plan for reusable rockets. The founder and CEO of the company, Ilon Mask, believes that this technology can revolutionize space travel, saving a lot of money. SpaceX returned to earth the first 8 stages of Falcon 9. But the last mission marks the first flight of a reusable launch vehicle.
The SES-10 satellite will be operated by SES based in Luxembourg to provide broadcasting services throughout Latin America.
The launch will be the third from the historic site 39A of the Kennedy Space Center. It was here that most NASA lunar missions and space shuttle launches were conducted. In 2014, the company signed a lease for 20 years.
The mission of SES-10 is not the only space activity today. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbro and Peggy Whitson plan a 6,5-hour spacewalk from the ISS.
“This is necessary to complete the cable connections in the Sealed Adapter-3 adapter, which was recently attached to the Harmony module,” say NASA. - “Moving adapter has prepared a station for a new International docking adapter-3. They are going to deliver it in the next spaceX Dragon mission. ”
For Whitson, this is the eighth spacewalk (the largest number for a female astronaut). She shared this figure with astronaut Sunita Williams. (Record on the number of spacewalks - 16, owned by cosmonaut Anatoly Solovyov).
