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Showing posts from July 24, 2025

SpaceX Launches Two O3b mPOWER Satellites, Successfully Lands Falcon 9 Booster at Sea

The Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to MEO on July 22, at 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 GMT) with two SES communication satellites — O3b mPOWER 9 and 10. About 8.5 minutes after launch, the rocket's first stage returned to Earth, landing gently on the droneship “Just Read the Instructions” in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the sixth launch and landing for the booster and extended a run of spot-on recoveries and frequent orbital missions for SpaceX. SpaceX Expands SES's mPOWER Constellation with 89th Falcon Launch of 2025 According to a SpaceX mission update, the Falcon 9's second stage will fire again to beat the satellites out into MEO — slowing down the satellites' relative speed to Earth, tricks mission planners can use to reduce the moment magnitude before the ground impact. The launch was scrubbed by the abort itself but was aborted 11 seconds before the abort was actually supposed to happen. The abort was not immediately explained, and Space...