BulgariaSat-1
Falcon 9 Full Thrust
SpaceX
Rocket Launch Video
Weather Forecast During Launch
According to weather officials, there's a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch.
Mission
BulgariaSat-1
- Type: Communications
- Orbit: Geostationary Transfer Orbit
- Launch Cost: $50,000,000
BulgariaSat-1 is a geostationary communications satellite operated by Bulgaria Sat and manufactured by SSL. Its payload is composed of 30 Ku band BSS transponders and 2 Ku-band FSS transponders for fixed satellite services and high-definition television broadcasts. It is designed to deliver service for 15 years with a projected fuel life of over 20 years. BulgariaSat-1 is designed to provide direct-to-home television service and data communications services to the Balkans and other European regions.
Location
Launch Complex 39A
Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA
Find the best place to watch the launch from Florida
Launch Complex 39A has witnessed the launch of 208 rockets, including 207 orbital launch attempts. While Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA, has been the site for 266 rocket launches.
The John F. Kennedy Space Center, located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of NASA's ten field centers. Since 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. Launch operations for the Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs were carried out from Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 and managed by KSC. Located on the east coast of Florida, KSC is adjacent to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS).
Rocket
SpaceX Falcon 9 Full Thrust
The Full Thrust variants first stage includes all systems necessary for an operational re-use of stages while the second stage is operated as an expendable rocket stage.
Landing
Core B1029
The first stage of the Falcon 9 landed on the ASDS, OCISLY, stationed of the east coast. Booster B1029 last launched 06/23/2017 and has seen 2 successful launches and landings. Retired.
Of Course I Still Love You - OCISLY
The second ASDS barge, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) services launches in the Pacific Ocean and was the site of the first landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage during CRS-8, the launch of a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
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.
