SpaceX launched a giant communications satellite from Cape Canaveral on Friday, and tried again to land the booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the second launch of the Los Angeles-based company’s upgraded Falcon 9 rocket, and the first launch to a geostationary transfer orbit, from which a satellite can be maneuvered to a stationary position over the earth.
The rocket lifted off on schedule at 3:35 p.m. Pacific Time. The second stage fired twice as planned, sending the satellite into its proper orbit. Layer SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that the booster landed hard on the “droneship” in the Atlantic.
Rocket landed hard on the droneship. Didn’t expect this one to work (v hot reentry), but next flight has a good chance.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 5, 2016
The flight was delayed several times over the last week, first by a problem with the rocket’s super-chilled liquid oxygen, then by a ship straying into the launch area, and then by high winds in the upper atmosphere.
The satellite, SES-9, will provide direct broadcasting and other communications services in Northeast Asia, South Asia and Indonesia, as well as to vessels in the Indian Ocean. It was built by Boeing for Luxembourg-based SES.