Falcon 9 spacex amos-17

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket delivered Thales Alenia Space’s TurkmenÄlem52E/MonacoSat satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit on 27 April 2015 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The satellite was deployed approximately 32 minutes after liftoff. Photo: Flickr/SpaceX

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch AMOS-17 satellite [live stream]

The AMOS-17 satellite will provide telecommunications access across the Middle East, Africa and Europe and will eventually finish up in a geostationary orbit around the Earth, SpaceX confirmed.

Falcon 9 spacex amos-17

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket delivered Thales Alenia Space’s TurkmenÄlem52E/MonacoSat satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit on 27 April 2015 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The satellite was deployed approximately 32 minutes after liftoff. Photo: Flickr/SpaceX

SpaceX will use its Falcon 9 rocket to launch the AMOS-17, an advanced communications satellite owned by Spacecom, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, United States.

The launch was initially scheduled for 3 August, but was postponed in order for engineers to replace a faulty valve. SpaceX said on 2 August that additional static fire tests would be conducted following the valve replacement.

The company has now confirmed that the static fire tests are complete. The team is “working toward 6 August for the launch of AMOS-17, pending range availability.”

The launch is scheduled for 18:53 EDT on Tuesday (00:53 Wednesday morning, South African Standard Time) and will extend until 20:20 EDT (2:20 SAST)

What will happen during the mission?

The first stage booster used for this mission, dubbed B1047.3, is a veteran member of the Falcon 9 fleet, having flown twice before. 

It first carried the Telstar 19 Vantage satellite in July 2018.

In November 2018, it deposited Qatar’s Es’hail 2 communications satellite into orbit. Unfortunately, the booster won’t be returning to Earth.

 The vehicle needs every drop of its fuel supplies to ensure that the heavy AMOS-17 satellite — weighing in at 6.5 metric tons (6 500 kilograms) — reaches the highest possible orbit.

There will not be enough fuel to land itself back at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; or even out at sea on SpaceX’s drone ship. Therefore, the Falcon 9 has been stripped of its grid fins and landing legs.

It is now destined to end its service by splashing down in the ocean. That said, SpaceX will “try to catch another fairing and has a deployed its recovery fleet in anticipation of the upcoming launch,” Space.com reports.

Watch: Falcon 9 rocket launch live stream

Take note, liftoff scheduled for sometimes between 00:53 and 02:20 South African Standard Time (SAST) on Wednesday 7 August 2019. The stream will go live at 00:50.

Falcon 9 rocket: Stats for nerds

The Falcon 9 rocket has in been commission since 2012, and is the Falcon Heavy’s predecessor. The Falcon 9 will carry approximately 53 000 kilograms of cargo into space throughout its lifetime.

The two-stage-to-orbit rocket has a mass of 541 300 kilograms. It can carry up to 22 800 kilograms of cargo in low Earth orbit; or up to 8 300 kilograms in geostationary transfer orbit.

Furthermore, the Falcon 9’s first stage has nine Merlin engines with a burn time of 162 seconds. In addition, the second stage has only one engine which ignites after stage separation. It has a burn time of 397 seconds.

Also read – SpaceX to attempt triple rocket landing with Falcon Heavy