Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) successfully launched a Falcon 9 mission containing the EUTELSAT 115 West B and ABS-3A communications satellites Sunday.
The launch at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., Launch Complex 40 took place at 10:50pm.
EUTELSAT 115 West B is to provide the Americas with video, data, government, and mobile services for Eutelsat.
ABS-3A will distribute television programming, internet and mobile phone connectivity, and maritime services across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for the Asia Broadcast Service of Bermuda and Hong Kong.
Both satellites were built by Boeing [BA]. They use all-electric xenon-ion propulsion. This allows for a single Flacon 9 to fit both satellites and removed the need for the heavy Hydrazine fuel.
The ion propulsion is low-level compared to chemical rockets and will require the satellites to spend several more months reaching their final orbit.
“With more than 210,000 hours of on-orbit experience with electric propulsion, we recognized that this highly efficient, lighter weight propulsion system would translate into cost savings for our customers,” Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing Satellite Systems International, said in a statement.
This was the 16th Falcon launch and the most voluminous payload to date.