(Update: launched) SpaceX targets Sunday to launch Amazonas Nexus communications satellite into orbit


Devdiscourse News Desk | California | Updated: 07-02-2023 07:53 IST | Created: 04-02-2023 10:49 IST
(Update: launched) SpaceX targets Sunday to launch Amazonas Nexus communications satellite into orbit
Representative Image. Credit: Twitter (@SpaceX)

SpaceX is gearing up for the launch of Amazonas Nexus, the new communications satellite of the Spanish company Hispasat, on Sunday, February 5. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite will lift off at 5:32 p.m. ET (22:32 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Falcon 9's first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched SES-22, ispace's HAKUTO-R Mission 1, and three Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the booster will land on the Just Read the Instructions droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

If the launch doesn't happen on Sunday, a backup launch opportunity is available on Monday, February 6 at the same time.

For the unversed, Hispasat's Amazonas Nexus will cover all of the Americas, Greenland and the North and South Atlantic corridors and will be focused on connectivity services in remote areas and in aerial and maritime mobility settings. The satellite is equipped with a cutting-edge Digital Transparent Processor (DTP) that will allow it to increase its geographic flexibility if changes occur to the initially proposed business scenarios, Hispasat said in a statement.

Update 1

SpaceX has deferred Sunday's launch of the Amazonas Nexus mission due to unfavourable weather conditions. The Elon Musk-owned company is now targeting Monday, February 6 at 5:32 p.m. ET (22:32 UTC) for the mission's launch.

Update 2

Falcon 9 successfully launched the Amazonas Nexus mission to orbit, following which its first stage landed on the Just Read the Instructions droneship.

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