Containing 81 Ku-Band transponders, SES-9 will be positioned at 108.2 degrees East to provide communication coverage for 22 million homes. The satellite will enhance SES’s existing coverage in Asia, Australia and also improve maritime communications in the Indian Ocean. The 5300kg craft will use a xenon ion propulsion system for orbital manoeuvres to decrease the amount of propellant needed.
The Full Thrust variants first stage includes all systems necessary for an operational re-use of stages while the second stage is operated as an expendable rocket stage.
See DetailsSpace Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
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