spacetoday.net: Falcon 9 launches South Korean satellite

Posted: Wed, Jul 22, 2020, 8:11 PM ET (0011 GMT)
Falcon 9 launch of Anasis-2 (SpaceX)

SpaceX launched a South Korean military communications satellite Monday. The Falcon 9 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 5:30 pm EDT (2130 GMT) and deployed the ANASIS-2 satellite into geostationary transfer orbit about a half-hour later. ANASIS-2 was built by Airbus Defence and Space as part of an offset obligation related to a $7 billion sale of US F-35 fighter jets to South Korea in 2014. The rocket's first stage was first flown on the Demo-2 commercial crew mission, and the turnaround between launches was the shortest to date for SpaceX. The company also said it successfully caught both halves of the rocket's payload fairing using nets attached to ships downrange from the launch site.