Include a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in your late Monday night plans
Less than two weeks after launching out of California, SpaceX is ready to fly its next Falcon 9 rocket, this time from Florida. Tonight, the company is tasked with sending up a hefty communications satellite for operator Hispasat, called Hispasat 30W-6. However, it looks like SpaceX will not attempt one of its signature rocket landings at sea after takeoff.
Many thought this rocket would be expendable. The satellite’s weight — more than 13,400 pounds (6,092 kilograms) — makes it one of the heaviest payloads for SpaceX. Plus it’s going to a high orbit about 22,000 miles (around 35,700 kilometers) above Earth known as geostationary orbit. Getting a heavy satellite that high uses up a lot of fuel, leaving little leftover for the Falcon 9 to…
