SpaceX launched two satellites for the telecom company SES today (April 28) and landed the rocket at sea and you can watch the action live.
A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SES' O3b mPower 3 and 4 satellites lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 6:12 p.m. EDT (2212 GMT).
The SpaceX launch came after a one-hour delay during a countdown in which a dismal weather outlook with only a 20% chance of favorable weather improved to a more encouraging 70% chance of good conditions.
Related: 8 ways that SpaceX has transformed spaceflight
The Falcon 9's first stage returned to Earth just under nine minutes after liftoff with a vertical touchdown on the SpaceX droneship Just Read the Instructions, which was be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast.
"That landing marked SpaceX's 188th recovery of an orbital class rocket, including first-stage landings of Falcon 9 and Heavy," SpaceX propulsion engineer Youmei Zhou said during launch commentary.
It was the second liftoff and touchdown for this particular booster, acccording to a SpaceX mission description. It previously launched Crew-6, SpaceX's most recent astronaut mission to the International Space Station for NASA.
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling O3b mPower 3 and 4 to medium Earth orbit. The two satellites were successfully deployed seven minutes apart about two hours after launch.
As their names suggest, the two satellites launching today will become the third and fourth members of SES' O3b mPower constellation, which will provide low-latency communications services to customers around the word, according to Luxembourg- and France-based SES.
The 11-satellite network is being assembled at an altitude of 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers). Two satellites are already up there — O3b mPower 1 and 2, which launched on a Falcon 9 last December. That was a landmark mission for SpaceX, the 200th orbital flight for the company since its 2002 founding.
Friday's liftoff was the 29th of 2023 for SpaceX and its 229th launch overall. It was also the second launch of the week, following a successful launch of 46 Starlink internet satellites.
The company attempted to launch its powerful Falcon Heavy rocket for the sixth time ever on the same day, but aborted that attempt about 1 minute before liftoff. The next attempt for that mission will be on April 30., weather permitting, from NASA's Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Editor's note: This story was updated on April 29 to include more details about the successful launch of SpaceX's 03b mPower mission for SES.
Mike Wall is the author of "Out There" (Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for alien life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
