SpaceX Satellite Launch LIVE STREAM: Elon Musk's Falcon 9 Rocket Will Try to Send an Orbiter 22,000 Miles Above Ground
ByElon Musk and SpaceX plan to be the first private company in four years to launch a satellite from Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The launch will occur at 5:37 p.m. with an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a commercial communications satellite, USA Today reported. The feat is something more than SpaceX has ever attempted.
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The Falcon 9 rocket has previously flown cargo loads to the International Space Station, which is 250 miles above ground. The satellite will be the first one SpaceX tries to put into orbit of the Earth, some 22,000 miles in above ground.
SES, one of the world's leading satellite operators, currently is managing 54 in orbit and said SpaceX could become a low-cost option in the market for commercial launches.
"Let me put this very clearly and maybe not too dramatically: The entry of SpaceX into the commercial market is a game-changer," said Martin Halliwell, chief technology officer for SES. "It's going to really shake the industry to its roots."
Musk, the billionaire CEO of SpaceX, said he was very grateful to SES for taking a chance on their satellite launch. If the satellite should reach its targeted orbit, it will rotate equal the speed to the rotation of the Earth, making it appear to be stationary.
"This launch is obviously very important to the future of SpaceX," Musk told reporters at a pre-launch reception Sunday. "We're very appreciative that SES would place a bet on SpaceX here."
Halliwell said other private companies similar to SpaceX will be eagerly watching and anticipating its success or failure. If it is successful, however, some of those companies might have good reason to be worried for future business.
"Other launch vehicle providers are looking with great interest in the success, or not, of this launch, and I think they will be rather worried for their future," Halliwell told BBC News.
Musk has previously stated this will be the Falcon 9's toughest mission to date, but is still confident it will succeed.
"We've done everything we can possibly think of to maximise the reliability of this launch," said Musk, who is also the craft's chief designer. "There's no stone that hasn't been turned over at least twice to maximise the probability of success. Being a rocket, there's still some chance of failure, but whatever happens we can be at peace that we've done everything we could think of, and SES's technical team has looked at it and they concur."