The satellite will deliver TV and radio to millions of North American homes and provide other critical data transmission services
A two-stage Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday at 5:04 p.m. EDT (2104 GMT), carrying the SES-22 communication satellite toward orbit.
It was the second launch and landing for this Falcon 9 first stage "B1073.2", which previously helped loft a batch of SpaceX's Starlink internet satellites
The Rocket launch was carried out nominally from Pad-40, About 8.5 minutes after launch, the Falcon 9's first stage came back down to Earth, landing on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, and the head fairing shells are to be retrieved at sea by the support ship "Doug".
The Falcon 9's upper stage, meanwhile, continued hauling SES-22 toward a geosynchronous transfer orbit, ultimately deploying the satellite in a 310 x 35627 km x 16.5 deg, 33.5 minutes after liftoff.
The SES-22 is operated by the Luxembourg-based telecom company SES. It will operate in the slot 135-degree west orbiter and will provide TV and radio to millions of American homes and provide other critical data transmission services, with operations scheduled to begin in early August 2022. SES said the new satellite is part of a broader program. Broad FCC to work with satellite operators to develop a plan to free up 280 MHz of C-band spectrum for 5G mobile services (plus a 20 MHz guard band) for TV and radio services, critical broadcast services. 5G data and networks can be delivered simultaneously. The company completed all Phase I transition activities in September 2021 and is on track to complete Phase II transition activities to meet the FCC's December 2023 deadline.
"SES-22 is expected to be commissioned by early August 2022," from SES, in an Emailed Statement.
LAUNCH, LANDING AND RELEASE OF PAYLOAD
All approximate times
hh/min/ss Event
00:00:00 Lift-off
00:01:12 Max Q (moment of maximum mechanical stress on the rocket)
00:02:30 Cut-off of the 1st stage main engines (MECO)
00:02:33 1st and 2nd stages separated
00:02:41 Merlin 1D plus Vac engine ignition 2nd stage (SES-1)
00:03:24 Fairing Deployment
00:06:16 Start 1st stage Entry Burn
00:06:42 1st stage Entry burn completed
00:08:02 Cut-off of the 2nd stage engines (SECO)
00:08:07 1st stage landing burn begins
00:08:34 1st stage lands
00:27:08 2nd stage engine restart (SES-2)
00:28:15 Cut-off of the 2nd stage engines (SECO-2)
00:33:26 Deployment of SES-22 satellite