01:51 PM, May 13, 2018 / LAST MODIFIED: 05:54 PM, May 13, 2018
SpaceX launches Bangabandhu-1 satellite with most powerful Falcon 9 rocket
Star Online Report
SpaceX on Friday, May 11, blasted off its newest and most powerful Falcon 9 rocket, known as the Block 5, carrying the first communications satellite for Bangladesh called Bangabandhu Satellite-1, and marking a leap forward in re-usability for the California-based aerospace company.
The main goal for the maiden mission of Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket was to launch the high-orbit communications satellite for Bangladesh to a geostationary transfer orbit roughly 22,000 miles (35,000 kilometers) above Earth, reports AFP.
The achievement was hailed by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a livestream video from Dhaka aired on SpaceX's launch webcast.
"In the continuous advancement of Bangladesh another milestone is added today," the PM said.
"With the launch of Bangabandhu-1, we are hoisting our national flag into space," she added.
How many satellites out there?
Total number of operating satellites is now 1,738.
United States 803
Russia 142
China 204
other 589
Bangabadhu-1 to save $14m/yr
The Falcon 9 rocket's payload, the Bangladeshi government's first communications satellite, Bangabandhu-1, was placed into Earth orbit just 33 minutes after launch.
Talking about the benefits of the Tk 2,765.66 crore commercial satellite, project officials said it would immensely contribute to the digital advancement of the country.
The satellite will offer video and communications coverage over Bangladesh and its territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal, as well as in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkestan and a part of Kazakhstan.
Renting out broadcasting capacity will be one of the main purpose of the satellite as Bangladesh currently meets its demand for satellite connectivity renting from foreign operators spending about $14 million a year.
Bangabandhu-1 could save the foreign currency and its unused capacity could also be rented to other nations.
However, over the last few months, a number of local TV channels have expressed their reservations that Bangabandhu-1 would be far out in the east and it might not be suitable for them.
State-owned Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Ltd would operate the business of the Bangabandhu-1.
The satellite will also provide broadband connectivity to rural areas throughout Bangladesh, according to a SpaceX statement.
The satellite is expected to be operational for at least 15 years, it added.
NINE MERLIN ENGINES: With its nine first-stage Merlin engines clustered together, Falcon 9 can sustain up to two engine shutdowns during flight and still successfully complete its mission. Falcon 9 is the only launch vehicle in its class with this key reliability feature. Photo grabbed from SpaceX website
The rocket launched at 4:14pm local time (2:14am Bangladesh time) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Minutes later, the rocket's main-stage booster flew itself back to Earth to achieve a safe return landing on an unmanned platform vessel floating in the Pacific Ocean.
About a half hour after launch, live images showed the satellite drifting into the inky blackness of space, as cheers and screams erupted at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX Falcon 9: Future is now
The newly minted SpaceX Falcon 9 Block-5 rocket is an update to its predecessor Block-4, being equipped with about 100 upgrades for greater power, safety and reusability, reports Reuters.
With less weight and a more easily produced structure, the Block-5 rocket has been tailored for eventual crewed missions for NASA.
Reliability is crucial to the next milestone for SpaceX: Putting astronauts on top of Falcon 9 in the company's Crew Dragon capsule. NASA requires SpaceX fly the same design of Falcon 9 seven times to certify it for human flight.
The rocket requires far less maintenance and refurbishment between flights, and is certified to carry humans to space later this year when SpaceX would launch its Dragon crew capsule to the International Space Station.
The maiden mission of the Block-5 rocket was the ninth launch by SpaceX so far this year, compared to five orbital-class missions the company had logged at the same point in 2017, according to Musk.
"This rocket is really designed to be the most reliable rocket ever built," said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
On Thursday, the maiden launch was postponed at the last minute when an automatic abort switch was triggered, which SpaceX said was just a glitch and the spacecraft remained in good health.
The rocket is built to re-fly up to 10 times with minimal refurbishment, Elon Musk told reporters ahead of the launch.
SpaceX has now landed 11 of its boosters on land and 14 on its droneships, which are floating platforms in the ocean, as part of its effort to bring down the cost of spaceflight and re-use costly rocket parts.
The tentative first crew launch for SpaceX is planned for December this year, marking the first time that a rocket has left US soil carrying people to space since the end of the US space shuttle program in 2011.
SpaceX launches Bangabandhu-1 satellite with most powerful Falcon 9 rocket
Star Online Report
SpaceX on Friday, May 11, blasted off its newest and most powerful Falcon 9 rocket, known as the Block 5, carrying the first communications satellite for Bangladesh called Bangabandhu Satellite-1, and marking a leap forward in re-usability for the California-based aerospace company.
The main goal for the maiden mission of Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket was to launch the high-orbit communications satellite for Bangladesh to a geostationary transfer orbit roughly 22,000 miles (35,000 kilometers) above Earth, reports AFP.
The achievement was hailed by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a livestream video from Dhaka aired on SpaceX's launch webcast.
"In the continuous advancement of Bangladesh another milestone is added today," the PM said.
"With the launch of Bangabandhu-1, we are hoisting our national flag into space," she added.
How many satellites out there?
Total number of operating satellites is now 1,738.
United States 803
Russia 142
China 204
other 589
Bangabadhu-1 to save $14m/yr
The Falcon 9 rocket's payload, the Bangladeshi government's first communications satellite, Bangabandhu-1, was placed into Earth orbit just 33 minutes after launch.
Talking about the benefits of the Tk 2,765.66 crore commercial satellite, project officials said it would immensely contribute to the digital advancement of the country.
The satellite will offer video and communications coverage over Bangladesh and its territorial waters in the Bay of Bengal, as well as in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkestan and a part of Kazakhstan.
Renting out broadcasting capacity will be one of the main purpose of the satellite as Bangladesh currently meets its demand for satellite connectivity renting from foreign operators spending about $14 million a year.
Bangabandhu-1 could save the foreign currency and its unused capacity could also be rented to other nations.
However, over the last few months, a number of local TV channels have expressed their reservations that Bangabandhu-1 would be far out in the east and it might not be suitable for them.
State-owned Bangladesh Communication Satellite Company Ltd would operate the business of the Bangabandhu-1.
The satellite will also provide broadband connectivity to rural areas throughout Bangladesh, according to a SpaceX statement.
The satellite is expected to be operational for at least 15 years, it added.
NINE MERLIN ENGINES: With its nine first-stage Merlin engines clustered together, Falcon 9 can sustain up to two engine shutdowns during flight and still successfully complete its mission. Falcon 9 is the only launch vehicle in its class with this key reliability feature. Photo grabbed from SpaceX website
The rocket launched at 4:14pm local time (2:14am Bangladesh time) from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Minutes later, the rocket's main-stage booster flew itself back to Earth to achieve a safe return landing on an unmanned platform vessel floating in the Pacific Ocean.
About a half hour after launch, live images showed the satellite drifting into the inky blackness of space, as cheers and screams erupted at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California.
SpaceX Falcon 9: Future is now
The newly minted SpaceX Falcon 9 Block-5 rocket is an update to its predecessor Block-4, being equipped with about 100 upgrades for greater power, safety and reusability, reports Reuters.
With less weight and a more easily produced structure, the Block-5 rocket has been tailored for eventual crewed missions for NASA.
Reliability is crucial to the next milestone for SpaceX: Putting astronauts on top of Falcon 9 in the company's Crew Dragon capsule. NASA requires SpaceX fly the same design of Falcon 9 seven times to certify it for human flight.
The rocket requires far less maintenance and refurbishment between flights, and is certified to carry humans to space later this year when SpaceX would launch its Dragon crew capsule to the International Space Station.
The maiden mission of the Block-5 rocket was the ninth launch by SpaceX so far this year, compared to five orbital-class missions the company had logged at the same point in 2017, according to Musk.
"This rocket is really designed to be the most reliable rocket ever built," said SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.
On Thursday, the maiden launch was postponed at the last minute when an automatic abort switch was triggered, which SpaceX said was just a glitch and the spacecraft remained in good health.
The rocket is built to re-fly up to 10 times with minimal refurbishment, Elon Musk told reporters ahead of the launch.
SpaceX has now landed 11 of its boosters on land and 14 on its droneships, which are floating platforms in the ocean, as part of its effort to bring down the cost of spaceflight and re-use costly rocket parts.
The tentative first crew launch for SpaceX is planned for December this year, marking the first time that a rocket has left US soil carrying people to space since the end of the US space shuttle program in 2011.
