SpaceX Re-Flies First Block 5 Booster After 88 Days for Merah Putih

Bill Jelen

August 8, 2018

Filtered by Category: SpaceX

On August 7, 2018 at 1:18 AM local time, SpaceX Booster Number 46 lifted the Merah Putih satellite to orbit for Telkom Indonesia. While this is the fifteenth time that SpaceX has re-flown a first-stage booster, this is the first time that they have re-flown their new Block 5 version of the booster. The booster originally launched Bangabandhu-1 on May 11, 2018. The 88 days to recover, refurbish, and re-fly the booster is significantly faster than the refurbishment times for previous versions.

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Falcon 9 lifts Bangabandhu-1 to orbit for the nation of Bangladesh.  Photo credit: Mary Ellen Jelen / We Report Space

Launch is a Very Big Day for People of Bangladesh

Bangladesh became the 57th country to have a satellite in space on May 11, 2018 with the launch of Bangabandhu-1. The satellite will reduce the country's dependence on foreign satellite operators. The satellite will provide benefits to the weather department, defense sectors and will provide television and telecommunication services to rural areas in Bangladesh. Plans include telemedicine and e-learning applications.

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Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy side core at LC-39A.  Photo credit: Michael Seeley / We Report Space

Elon Musk discusses Falcon 9 upgrades

In a call with media today, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk discussed upgrades to the Falcon 9. The first Block-5 Falcon is set to launch today with the Bangabandhu Satellite.

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Falcon 9 lifts heavyweight HispaSat 30W-6 to Orbit

SpaceX's landmark 50th Falcon 9 launch, lifting HispaSat 30W-6 to orbit took place shortly after midnight on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 from Space Launch Complex 40.  Marked as the heaviest satellite that SpaceX has lifted to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), HispaSat 30W-6 replaces the 30W-4 satellite covering the Mediterranean Sea and provides new Ka-, Ku- and C-band transponders to Europe and Latin America over the next 15 years.

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While most of the PHSF lighting is yellow, the team installed white lighting above TESS

TESS To Begin Search for Habitable Planets After SpaceX Launch on April 16 2018

Dr. George Ricker from Massachusetts Institute of Technology hosted a media day today for the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS). The principal investigator explained TESS's role between the Kepler Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope.

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