Elon Musk’s SpaceX is finally preparing for its first launch since the September 1 explosion. According to the latest reports, the Falcon 9 rocket has been loaded with 10 Iridium satellites. The launch is currently awaiting approval by the FAA.
Iridium communications, a mobile voice and data satellite communications company, tweeted on Friday that 10 of the company’s next generation satellites have been “stacked and encapsulated” in the fairing of the Falcon 9.
Milestone Alert: The first ten #IridiumNEXT satellites are stacked and encapsulated in the Falcon 9 fairing. #NEXTevolution @SpaceX
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket was exploded on the launchpad during a test at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station destroying Facebook’s Internet Satellite which was supposed to beam internet in Africa as part of internet.org initiative. The Amos 6 was built at a cost between $200 to $300 million (appx. Rs.1,337 crores to Rs.2,004 crores) and was the heaviest payload for a SpaceX rocket.
SpaceX has investigated the cause of the explosion, which occurred during pre-flight fueling procedures which involved a combination of liquid helium, the rocket’s carbon-fiber materials, and supercooled solid oxygen. There were no injuries as no one was present near the launchpad.
Iridium communications announced its plan to launch its next generation satellites called Iridium NEXT on SpaceX Falcon 9. The flight was scheduled to launch on December 16 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SpaceX is now aiming to launch the rocket in January.