Aerospace, Defence & Marine
SpaceX achieve total mission success launching its heaviest geostationary orbital payload yet
A Falcon-9 rocket has successfully launched SpaceX’s heaviest geostationary orbital payload yet.[1] The rocket blasted a 6070kg (13,380 lb) Inmarsat communication satellite into orbit from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 19:21 local time (00:21 BST, Tuesday).[2]
The communications satellite from Inmarsat (the UK’s biggest space company) is the fourth in a constellation[3] created to provide high-bandwidth broadband Internet globally.
Although SpaceX is known for its reusable rockets – the massive weight of the satellite meant the mission parameters did not call for an attempt to recover the first stage of the rocket.[4] The launch was originally meant to be done with one of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rockets, but the company has not yet managed to bring them into commercial operation.
The launch took place at SpaceX's LC-39A complex at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX has leased and repurposed the pad[5] to support Falcon 9 and future Falcon Heavy crewed launches.
Credit via BBC
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SpaceX Launches Super-Heavy Communications Satellite
Perched on top of the two-stage rocket was the 13,400-lb. (6,100 kilograms) Inmarsat-5 F4 communications satellite, the heaviest spacecraft yet to be delivered by a Falcon booster into a geostationary transfer orbit
Checked 14 October 2026
SpaceX Launches Super-Heavy Communications Satellite
at 7:21 p.m. EDT (2321 GMT). It was the sixth of more than 20 missions SpaceX plans to fly this year.
Checked 14 October 2026
SpaceX Launches Inmarsat 5 F4 Global Xpress Satellite
Inmarsat 5 F4 joins the three GX satellites already in orbit, which have been delivering improved service speeds, global coverage, reliability, and security to users on land, at sea and in the air since December 2015.
Checked 14 October 2026
Falcon 9 launch timeline with Inmarsat 5 F4
On this mission, SpaceX does not plan to attempt a recovery of the rocket’s first stage booster due to the high performance required to place the heavy Inmarsat 5 F4 spacecraft into a high-altitude orbit.
Checked 14 October 2026
SpaceX Heads for the Hundred, With Rousing Inmarsat 5-F4 Launch from Pad 39A
supported 82 Space Shuttle launches, before NASA handed it over to SpaceX on a 20-year lease
Checked 14 October 2026
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