An Atlas V rocket launched from Florida’s Space Coast on Tuesday night (October 4), placing two commercial communications satellites into orbit.
of Atlas V, Carrying the twin SES-20 and SES-21 spacecraft, it launched from Space Force Station Cape Canaveral at 5:36 PM EDT (2136 GMT) on Tuesday.
The 196-foot (60-meter) tall rocket hit all its marks early. For example, about two minutes after launch as scheduled, he jettisoned three solid rocket boosters, and about 1.5 minutes later, during launch, he jettisoned his payload fairing, which protected two satellites. Her two stages of Atlas V were separated by about T+4.5 minutes.
Related: rocket history
Let’s relive the liftoff! #AtlasV #SES20 #SES21@SES_Satellites pic.twitter.com/uDh70XTCadOctober 4, 2022
But the rocket’s centaur upper stage will need to power the nearly circular, near-geostationary orbit above Earth into which SES-20 and SES-21 will deploy, so there’s a lot of work left to do. increase.
If all goes according to plan, SES-20 will deploy about 5 hours and 40 minutes after launch, and SES-21 about 40 minutes after launch. The two rovers will use on-board propulsion systems to circularize their orbits and zoom in on the Earth at about 22,300 miles (35,900 kilometers) above the equator. ULA mission description (opens in new tab).
Once the satellites are installed in these orbits and undergo a checkout period, SES-20 and SES-21 will be able to serve their original purpose of providing television broadcast service across the United States to Luxembourg telecommunications company SES. will be
“With thousands of narrow, steerable beams and the ability to isolate sources of interference, the two spacecraft built by Boeing will provide SES and future customers with expanded coverage areas and missions for their satellites throughout their lifespans. It provides the ability to expand, even change,” wrote a ULA representative in the mission description.
“The combination of proven hardware and next-generation technology has created an affordable, lightweight spacecraft that enables the launch of two satellites in one rocket,” they added. .
The launch of Atlas V is part of a busy week of spaceflight. For example, SpaceX has crew 5 astronaut mission For NASA and another batch of the company star link Two separate missions launched Internet satellites on Wednesday (October 5) and two Intelsat communications satellites on Thursday (October 6).
Three more missions are also available on Thursday (October 6th). rocket lab It sends satellites built by energy and technology company General Atomics into orbit.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on October 4th at 6:15pm EDT with news of a successful liftoff.
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