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The 50th SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, FL with the Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat for spanish
operator Hispasat at 12:33 a.m.
EST on March 6, 2018. The 6
ton satellite was delivered to geostationary transfer orbit. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
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Ken Kremer -- SpaceUpClose.com -- 7 Mar 2018
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION,
FL – SpaceX launched its biggest geostationary satellite ever on the landmark 50th
mission for the firms Falcon 9 rocket with a magnificent midnight blastoff for Hispasat from the Florida
Space Coast on March 6.
The milestone 50th
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully lifted off at 12:33 a.m.
EST (533 GMT, 633 Spanish time) from seaside Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape Canaveral Air
Force Station, FL, with the city bus sized 6 ton Hispasat 30W-6 communications
satellite.
The crystal clear overnight skies
offered a beautiful blastoff experience that delighted nightowl skywatchers and
space enthusiasts alike as they tracked the rockets path for more than five
minutes.
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50th SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from
Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, FL at 12:33 a.m.
EST on March 6, 2018 carrying the 6
ton Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat for spanish
operator Hispasat to geostationary transfer orbit.
Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
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Check out our launch gallery of
photos and videos gathered here from myself and space journalist photographers
and friends.
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Blastoff of SpaceX Falcon 9 and Hispasat
30W-6 telecomsat from Cape Canaveral pad 40 on
March 6, 2018. Credit: Julian Leek
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Look back again as the gallery
grows.
Hispasat 30W-6 will provide high definition TV, voice, and high speed
internet broadband connectivity to Spanish and Portuguese speaking regions
across Europe, the Americas and North Africa. |
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The 50th SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off
from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, FL with the Hispasat
30W-6 telecomsat for spanish operator Hispasat at 12:33
a.m.
EST on March 6, 2018. The 6
ton satellite was delivered to geostationary transfer orbit. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
|
Watch this compilation of launch
video collected from video cameras ringing pad 40 at Florida’s spaceport:
Video Caption: UP-CLOSE 50th Falcon 9
Launches Hispasat 30W-6 on March 6, 2018. Credit: Jeff Seibert
The two stage 229-foot-tall (70-meter-tall) SpaceX Falcon 9
rocket delivered HispaSat 30W-6 to a geosynchronous transfer orbit for HISPASAT – which is “comprised of companies that have a
presence in Spain as well as in Latin America, where its Brazilian affiliate
HISPAMAR is based.”
HISPASAT is a world leader in the
distribution and broadcasting of Spanish and Portuguese content, and its
satellite fleet is used by important direct-to-home television (DTH) and
high-definition television (HDTV) digital platforms, according to a company
description.
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The 50th SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off
from Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, FL with the Hispasat
30W-6 telecomsat for spanish operator Hispasat at 12:33
a.m.
EST on March 6, 2018. The 6
ton satellite was delivered to geostationary transfer orbit. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
|
After reaching its initial orbit it will be moved to its final orbital position, 30º West, where it will replace and broaden the capacity of Hispasat 30W-4.
The Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat was manufactured by Space Systems
Loral in Palo Alto (California) and involved the significant participation of
the Spanish aerospace industry.”
The 6 metric ton satellite is the size of a
city bus.
Hispasat 30W-6 is equipped with 40 Ku-band
transponders, 6 Ka-band beams and 10 C-band transponders.
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50th SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket streaks to orbit
after launching from Space Launch Complex-40
(SLC-40) on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL at 12:33
a.m.
EST on March 6, 2018, carrying the Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat for spanish operator
Hispasat. Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
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This SpaceX Falcon 9 launch concluded a back to back double header of launches in
the span of just over 4 days!
This past Thursday, March 1, ULA opened the month with the
stunning dinnertime liftoff of the 20 story tall Atlas V rocket carrying the
5.5 ton GOES-S next generation weather observatory to geosynchronous orbit for
NOAA and NASA. Read out stories.
The next launch from Florida is tentatively slated for
April 2 and involves a Falcon 9 launching a recycled Dragon cargo vehicle to the
International Space Station (ISS) for NASA.
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50th SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from
Space Launch Complex-40 (SLC-40) on Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station, FL at 12:33 a.m.
EST on March 6, 2018 carrying the 6
ton Hispasat 30W-6 telecomsat for spanish
operator Hispasat to geostationary transfer orbit.
Credit: Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose.com/kenkremer.com
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Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX,
ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK and more space and mission
reports direct from the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, Florida.
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing
Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news: www.kenkremer.com –www.spaceupclose.com –
twitter @ken_kremer - ken
at kenkremer.com
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Falcon 9 carrying Hispasat 30W-6
telecomsat stands poised for launch from Cape Canaveral pad 40 on March 6, 2018. Credit: Julian Leek
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