WATCH AGAIN: SpaceX successfully launches communications satellites from Cape Canaveral

Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Saturday evening

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of communications satellites Saturday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The launch lit up the sun-setting sky at 7:05 p.m., the start of the launch window, and comes after two delays Thursday and Friday, respectively.

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Space officials, who initially targeted Friday for a second launch attempt, said they need “additional time for vehicle checkouts.”

SpaceX announced the launch Thursday would be aborted 30 seconds prior to its scheduled liftoff time.

According to SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, there was a “tiny helium leak,” which may have posed a risk to the communications satellites being sent into space.

The G-33/G-44 mission carried its namesake to orbit, two Intelsat satellites — the Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 — that the satellite services provider stated on its website are critical to its “C-band clearing strategy” in the U.S., reported by SpaceNews as its mission to further speed up the rollout of 5G networks.

B1060, the booster used in the mission, landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas autonomous drone ship following its 14th flight, according to Space Launch Schedule.


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About the Authors:

Brandon, a UCF grad, joined the ClickOrlando team in November 2021. Before joining News 6, Brandon worked at WDBO.

Jacob joined ClickOrlando.com in 2022. He spent 19 years at the Orlando Sentinel, mostly as a photojournalist and video journalist, before joining Spectrum News 13 as a web editor and digital journalist in 2021.

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