CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION — The United Launch Alliance successfully launched two TV broadcasting satellites on Tuesday night from the Space Coast.
What You Need To Know
- The launch went off at 5:36 p.m. EDT, Tuesday
- Scroll down to watch the launch
ULA’s 196-foot-tall Atlas V 531 rocket blasted SES-20 and SES-21 satellites into a near geosynchronous (Earth-center) orbit from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The launch went off at 5:36 p.m. EDT, Tuesday.
About the mission
The two broadcasting satellites are from the SES company, which is based in the European country of Luxembourg.
“With SES-20 and -21, SES will continue to deliver C-band broadcast and radio services as well as critical data network services in the coming months,” ULA explained in a press release.
Aerojet Rocketdyne built its RL10C-1-1 engine for ULA’s second stage Centaur, which will take the satellites to their final destinations.
These satellites have their own propulsion systems that will help them orbit at 22,300 miles above the equator, which will operate over the continental United States.
“The satellites will usher in the Federal Communications Commission’s 5G Fast initiative, requiring satellite operators such as SES to clear from the lower 300 MHz to the upper 200 MHz of C-band spectrum to make way for 5G mobile services,” stated ULA.
Our #AtlasV has arrived at its Cape Canaveral pad for Tuesday's launch of two @SES_Satellites commercial spacecraft that will relay TV channels to more than 100 million homes across America. Launch time is 5:36pmEDT (2136 UTC).
— ULA (@ulalaunch) October 3, 2022
Live updates and webcast: https://t.co/g2gGpKMymv pic.twitter.com/6lM5vsxbnd
Watch the launch here
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