Wednesday, October 11, 2017

EchoStar Taps SpaceX For Satellite Launch Today

Englewood, Colorado-based EchoStar is getting set to place another satellite into space today, if a launch being run by space rocket startup SpaceX gets off the ground successfully this afternoon. According to SpaceX, it is launching the EchoStar 105/SES-11 satellite into space during a two hour launch window opening today, Wednesday, October 11 at 6:53 p.m. EDT (22:53 UTC), if conditions allow, for delivery into Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). The launch will re-use a Falcon 9 which was used in the February launch of a resupply mission to the International Space Station and successfully returned to earth. The EchoStar 105/SES-11 is a hybrid Ku and C band communications satellite, which will provide 24 Ku-band transponders for EchoStar, and 24 transponders in the C-band for SES. SpaceX said EchoStar's payload will provide coverage of the 50 U.S. states and expanded reach to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean for EchoStar's customers. The companies have not announced how much EchoStar is paying to launch the satellite into space to SpaceX, but the costs are expected to be sharply lower than normal due to SpaceX's use of a re-used rocket booster.