Spectacular launch of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral tonight with Intelsat’s Galaxy 33 and 34 satellites, beginning a twilight climb to orbit with nine Merlin 1D engines generating 1.7 million pounds of thrust.
The Galaxy 33 and Galaxy 34 communication satellites were launched by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 7:05 p.m. EDT by SpaceX on behalf of the company Intelsat from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Galaxy 34 will replace the Galaxy 12 satellite and will be in service in “late 2022.”
A pair of TV broadcasting satellites for Intelsat launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Saturday at 7:05 p.m. EDT (2305 GMT).
SpaceX aborted a countdown Thursday due to a small helium leak, then called off another launch attempt Friday evening for allow time for additional vehicle checkouts.
“Tiny helium leak (just barely triggered abort), but we take no risks with customer satellites,” tweeted Elon Musk, SpaceX’ founder and CEO. “Standing down to investigate.”
The launch comes a couple of days after two launches on Wednesday: the launch of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 52 Starlink satellites in the evening and NASA’s Crew 5 mission, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station, in the afternoon.
Photographer snapped this shot of the nearly full moon and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket tonight, with nine Merlin 1D engines blazing on the way to orbit with Intelsat’s Galaxy 33 and 34 video relay satellites.