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SpaceX Successfully Launches Satellite Into Orbit On a Used Falcon 9 Rocket (techcrunch.com)

Darrell Etherington reports via TechCrunch: SpaceX has launched a Falcon 9 rocket loaded with a geocommunications satellite commissioned by the Government of Luxembourg. The satellite, created by Orbital STK and to be operated by SES, will support humanitarian and military operations for Luxembourg, among other communications functions. The rocket took off from Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, a day after its initial planned launch. The original window wasn't viable due to weather, but the rocket launched as planned at the opening of its backup date with favorable weather conditions today. This launch today didn't include a recovery attempt of the Falcon 9 first stage booster used during the launch. The booster used was a reflown rocket, however, having been used May last year during a mission for a different client.

2 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. No recovery, but they did soft land by jfdavis668 · · Score: 4, Informative

    I guess they do this to obtain data, but they go through the landing procedure even if they don't plan on recovering. The first stage did its reentry burn, landing burn, deployed the landing legs and soft landed into the water. You can hear the call outs in the video.

    1. Re:No recovery, but they did soft land by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      Looks like it was a really soft landing: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/958847818583584768