14 DAY TRIAL // The highly-successful rocket tests that engineers at the Hawthorne, California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) managed to conclude last years did not go by without notice. The company has just signed a contract with an Asian satellite operator for a mid-2013 launch.
The new Thaicom 6 telecommunications satellite, which is commissioned by operator Thaicom, is scheduled to soar to the skies aboard a Falcon 9 medium-lift delivery system in the second quarter of 2013. This is the eight satellite that will use this rocket for deployment.
Thus far, SpaceX has conducted two test flights of the new rocket. During the first, in June 2010, it managed to carry out a suborbital flight while, during the second, the rocket managed to inject the Dragon unmanned space capsule into low-Earth orbit (LEO).
Given that the California company is one of the main contenders for developing a private spacecraft capable of reaching the International Space Station (ISS), these achievements are impressive. Its competitors have not even begun to test their rockets, let alone their space capsules.
Now, Thai satellite company THAICOM Plc. has taken note of SpaceX's progress too, and decided to entrust its future telecommunications satellite to the American company. The spacecraft is destined to be injected in a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).
The Falcon 9 that will carry it will launch from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) facility, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS). The installation is located right next to the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), the home of the space shuttles.
“This deal highlights the confidence that satellite operators have in SpaceX capabilities, and is the latest example of the effect SpaceX is having on the international commercial launch market,” says SpaceX CEO/CTO Elon Musk.
“Asia is a critical market and SpaceX is honored to support its growing launch needs with a reliable US-based solution,” he adds. Musk is better known as being the inventor of PayPal, and the founder of Tesla Motors.
“The Falcon 9 will serve our unique needs at Thaicom. This dedicated launch vehicle is both cost-effective and best-matched to our requirements,” says Thaicom CEO, Arak Chonlatanon.
“We look forward to working closely with the SpaceX team to ensure that the Thaicom 6 satellite will be successfully launched,” he concludes, quoted by SpaceRef.