spacetoday.net: Falcon launches communications satellite

Falcon launches communications satellite

Posted: Tue, Apr 28, 2015, 8:54 AM ET (1254 GMT)
Falcon 9 v1.1 launch of Thales satellite (SpaceX)

A Falcon 9 rocket launched a communications satellite built for Turkmenistan and Monaco on Monday evening. The Falcon 9 v1.1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at 7:03 pm EDT (2303 GMT), nearly one hour late because of cloudy weather. The rocket deployed the TurkmenAlem52E/MonacoSat into geostationary transfer orbit a half-hour after launch. The 4,700-kilogram satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space, will operate at 52 degrees east in GEO. The satellite will primarily be used by the government of Turkmenistan to provide communications services, with some transponders leased to Monaco, whose GEO slot the satellite will occupy.