SpaceX launches Australian communications satellite into orbit VIDEO

Falcon 9 rocket has successfully launched Australian telecoms satellite TD7 into orbit on November 18.

The launch of the rocket with the Optus satellite was carried out from the launch complex 39A of the Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral in Florida on November 17 at 17:28 US East Coast time, Caliber.Az reports, citing SpaceX’s page on X.

Watch Falcon 9 launch the TD7 mission to orbit https://t.co/V2akTkhlE6

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 17, 2024

The 3.5-tonne apparatus was placed into geostationary orbit. As part of the launch, the first reusable stage of the launch vehicle, which was used for the 16th time, made a controlled vertical landing on the offshore drone platform A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic after separation.

The two-hour launch window for the TD7 Optus mission opened at 5:28 p.m. ET as the Falcon 9 rocket took off from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, stated SpaceX.

Originally, the rocket was going up at 4:29 p.m. ET and then it was pushed to 4:48 p.m. ET. No reason was given for the pushback.

The Falcon 9 rocket sent up the telecommunications satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Optus is a communications company that provides wireless, internet access and Optus Television to customers. The satellite was built by Northrop Grumman.

With this launch, SpaceX tied the total number of Space Shuttle launches from Launch Complex 39A with just its Falcon 9 rocket at 82 launches each. SpaceX is also close to eclipsing the total number of launches from NASA at that pad.

By Khagan Isayev