SpaceX successfully launched a Falcon 9v1.2FT Block 5 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA at 2305 GMT on 08 October 2022. The vehicle was carrying Galaxy 33 & 34, a pair of C-band communications satellites owned by Intelsat on their way to their final Geostationary orbital location. The reusable B1060 First stage successfully landed on the drone barge A Shortfall of Gravitas which was stationed downrange in the Atlantic Ocean. It currently jointly holds the record of 14 flights with stage B1059. The GALAXY 33 and 34 spacecraft were left in a planned highly inclined transfer orbit with an apogee very much less than GEO. The orbit achieved was 19,830 x 305 km at 26.8 degrees inclination from which they will slowly raise themselves.
The Intelsat satellites were launched as part of a spectrum clearing operation in which customers are moved to a middle part of the C-Band spectrum, and, in return for financial compensation, satellite operators are giving up the lower portion to mobile phone operators. In Intelsat’s case, if it can clear these frequencies by early December 2023, it stands to gain US$4.87 billion in accelerated clearing payments through the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The original planned launch attempt on 6 October was automatically aborted at T-30 seconds from launch. The abort was triggered by the flight computer which identified a higher than expected cryo-helium decay. A further delay on 7 October was made to allow additional checks on the launch vehicle.
Jonathan Freeman contributed to this story.
Falcon 9 launch of Galaxy 33 and 34 satellites. Courtesy: SpaceX
