SpaceX successfully launches two commercial satellites
US based private space transport service company SpaceX successfully launched two commercial satellites viz. EUTELSAT 117 West B and ABS-2A.
They were launched using SpaceX’s reusable Falcon 9 rocket which had lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, US. This mission was SpaceX’s second dual-satellite launch.
Key facts
- These two commercial satellites are operated by Eutelsat and ABS companies respectively.
- They are geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) satellites that seek to provide global communications services to their users.
- However in this mission, the reusable rocket was lost before it could land on a drone ship platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket: It is a two-stage rocket powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellants. It is basically used for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.
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Month: Current Affairs - June, 2016