SpaceX launches rocket from Cape Canaveral

SpaceX has launched a communications satellite into orbit after a two-day delay.

Originally planned for 14 March, the launch was delayed by two days due to weather conditions, reported Fortune.

Musk’s company had won a satellite launch contract worth $82.7 million with the Air Force in 2016. The communication satellite, owned by EchoStar Corporation is meant to deliver superfast and high-end telecommunications service to Brazil.

It’s the second contract SpaceX has landed with the U.S. Air Force, with the last being in April.

The blastoff took place in the darkness of early morning at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. It was second launch of SpaceX rocket from LC-39A in the history and 36th launch of Falcon rocket in total.

The next SpaceX launch is scheduled for March 27. Narrators explain the stages of the EchoStar XXII launch as it happens to make it easier to watch and understand. It has four main reflectors which are accompanied with multiple sub-reflectors to support numerous mission profiles all at once.

The initial commercial deployment of EchoStar XXIII, which reportedly has a design life of 15 years, is slated to be at 45° West. Because of the weight of the satellite and the requirements of its initial orbit, the rocket did not have enough propellant left over to attempt a landing on an off-shore droneship.

SpaceX changed how it loads high-pressure helium tanks, and the Falcon returned to flight in January with a launch of Iridium Communications satellites from California. SpaceX is developing a heavy-lift vehicle that is equal to three Falcon 9’s together.

The EchoStar XXIII will orbit 22,000 miles above the Earth’s surface.