At 07:30 Beijing time on July 9, 2024 (19:30 EDT on the 8th), at the SLC-40 station of Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in southeast United States, SpaceX used the Falcon 9 carrier rocket to launch the "Turkey-6A" (Turksat-6A) large high-orbit communications satellite, and put the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit 35 minutes and 32 seconds after ignition.
Turkey Star-6A (Turksat-6A/Türksat-6A) is Turkey's first self-developed geosynchronous orbit communications satellite. The satellite is equipped with 16 Ku-band transponders, with a maximum power supply of 8.4 kilowatts, a transmission mass of 4.2 tons, and a design life of 15 years. After launch, the satellite will climb into orbit on its own and finally set itself in geostationary orbit above the equator at 42 degrees east longitude to provide communication services for the Eastern Mediterranean region and South Asia and its vicinity.
This rocket uses the 15th flight of the first stage B1076.15, using the down-the-course recovery (ASDS), 8 minutes and 33 seconds after ignition launch, the first stage landed on the JRTI automatic recovery ship located in the Atlantic, which is the 328th recovery landing (including return recovery) of the first stage module of the "Falcon" series rocket core. On the morning of June 1, Beijing time, the first-class B1076.14 carried out the Starlink G6-64 mission, 38 days after the launch mission.
The launch is the 68th Falcon IX rocket into orbit in 2024, the 37th launch of Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, the 81st launch of the United States and the 129th launch of the world.
Author: Mulan Xingzhou