Sirius SXM-8
Falcon 9 Block 5
SpaceX
Weather Forecast During Launch
According to weather officials, there’s a 70% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch.
Mission
SXM-8
- Type: Communications
- Orbit: Geostationary Transfer Orbit
- Launch Cost: $52,000,000
SXM-8 is a large high power broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM’s digital audio radio service (DARS).
Space Systems/Loral (SS/L) got in July 2016 the contract to build the two satellites based on their SSL-1300 bus – SXM-7 and SXM-8. Satellite design operates in the S-band spectrum. Each satellite will generate more than 20-kW of power and will have a large unfurlable antenna reflector, which enables broadcast to radios without the need for large dish-type antennas on the ground.
SXM-8 is meant to replace the XM-4 satellite. SXM-7 was meant to replace the XM-3, but suffered a failure in orbit 6 weeks after its launch.
Location
Space Launch Complex 40
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
Space Launch Complex 40 has witnessed the launch of 232 rockets, including 232 orbital launch attempts, while Cape Canaveral, FL, USA, has been the site for 942 rocket launches.
Rocket
SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
Landing
Core B1061
Booster B1061 last launched 02/23/2024 and has seen 19 successful launches and landings. Booster which launched Crew-1, Crew-2 and IXPE.
Just Read the Instructions – JRTI
Third (Marmac 303) ASDS barge, Just Read the Instructions (JRTI) is currently used to recover Falcon 9 and Heavy boosters in the Altantic Ocean.
Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship – ASDS
An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.
Agency
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
