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The Hispasat 30W-6 launch was the second of two back-to-back missions that SpaceX have conducted for Spanish customers, following the successful deployment of the Paz radar imaging satellite last month. The Hispasat launch had originally been scheduled for a few days after the Paz mission. However, it was delayed to allow time for additional checks on the pressurization system for Falcon 9\u2019s payload fairing.<\/p>\n
Paz \u2013 along with the XTAR-EUR and SpainSat-1 communications satellites \u2013 is operated by Hisdesat, a partnership between several Spanish aerospace companies of which Hispasat is the largest shareholder.<\/p>\n
Hispasat 30W-6 was built by Space Systems\/Loral. Hispasat ordered the satellite \u2013 then designated Hispasat-1F \u2013 in July 2014. The satellite was renamed, along with the majority of Hispasat\u2019s operational satellites, in 2016 to reflect the geostationary location from which it will be operated.<\/p>\n
Hispasat 30W-6 will replace Hispasat 30W-4 (formerly Hispasat-1D) at a longitude of 30 degrees West \u2013 over the Atlantic Ocean. At this position, it will operate alongside Hispasat 30W-5 (formerly Hispasat-1E), providing services including direct-to-home television broadcasting, internet and corporate networking solutions in Europe, the Mediterranean and South America.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nHispasat 30W-6<\/p>\n
The Hispasat 30W-6 satellite is based on the SSL 1300 satellite bus. It has an anticipated design life of at least 15 years, with a mass at launch of 6,092 kilograms (13,430 lb). The spacecraft is equipped with forty Ku-band transponders, six Ka-band transponders and ten C-band transponders.<\/p>\n
Aerospace & Defense
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Hispasat 30W-4, which Hispasat 30W-6 will replace, was launched aboard an Atlas IIAS rocket in September 2002. It was the second of two near-identical satellites built by Alcatel Space: its sister craft Hispasat 84W-1 (formerly Hispasat-1C) was launched two and a half years earlier and was decommissioned last June after exceeding its fifteen-year design life by over two years. Hispasat 30W-5 is also in operation at 30 degrees West, having been launched by an Ariane 5 in late 2010.<\/p>\n
In 2015, SpaceX was contracted to launch Hispasat 30W-6 aboard their Falcon 9 rocket. The launch will mark Falcon 9\u2019s fiftieth flight \u2013 excluding the Falcon Heavy vehicle which made its maiden flight last month.<\/p>\n
A partially-reusable two-stage rocket, Falcon 9 first flew in June 2010. The rocket\u2019s first test flight carried the Dragon Spacecraft Qualification Unit (DSQU), a mockup of the Dragon spacecraft that SpaceX now uses to deliver cargo to the International Space Station under NASA\u2019s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy are the only rockets currently flying that incorporate any element of reusability.<\/p>\n
The Falcon 9 that performed Tuesday\u2019s launch was a Falcon 9 v1.2 \u2013 the third major revision of the Falcon 9 design. The rocket\u2019s first five launches used a version that has retrospectively become known as v1.0, which was shorter than later versions and used a square grid layout for its first stage engines. The Falcon 9 v1.1, which first flew in September 2013, stretched both stages of the vehicle, introduced Merlin-1D engines in place of the earlier Merlin-1Cs, and rearranged the first stage engines into the now-familiar OctaWeb.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nThe 50th Falcon 9 \u2013 via SpaceX<\/p>\n
A further-upgraded Falcon 9, the v1.2 \u2013 also known as the Falcon 9 Full Thrust \u2013 was introduced in December 2015. The Falcon 9 v1.2 uses subcooled liquid oxygen \u2013 whose increased density allows a greater amount of oxidizer to be stored aboard the rocket compared to previous versions. The rocket\u2019s engines were also uprated, and the second stage was further stretched. Tuesday\u2019s launch is the thirtieth to use the v1.2 configuration.<\/p>\n
Within each major revision of the Falcon 9, SpaceX has also made continual improvements resulting in smaller increments, or blocks, in the production cycle. The first stage that will be used for Tuesday\u2019s launch, B1044, is a Block 4 core. SpaceX plans to freeze the Falcon 9 design with the next increment, Block 5, which is expected to take flight next month.<\/p>\n
A major driver in SpaceX\u2019s upgrades to the Falcon 9 has been their ambition to make the rocket at least partially reusable. This ambition was realized eleven months ago with the launch of Luxembourg\u2019s SES-10 satellite \u2013 less than a year after another Falcon 9 incorporating the same first stage had deployed Dragon\u2019s CRS-8 mission.<\/p>\n
SpaceX initially planned to recover Falcon 9\u2019s first stage by parachute. However, this proved unsuccessful.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/2018-03-05-213016.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSpaceX\u2019s West Coast Fairing Catcher, Mr. Steven. An East Coast version will be available soon<\/p>\n
With Falcon 9 v1.1, SpaceX switched their focus to a powered landing. After unsuccessful attempts in early 2015 aboard an Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (ASDS) \u2013 a large converted barge \u2013 off the coast of Cape Canaveral, SpaceX achieved their first successful landing with a return-to-launch-site (RTLS) on the Falcon 9 v1.2\u2019s maiden flight. Having made three burns after separating from the rocket, Falcon\u2019s first stage touched down at Cape Canaveral\u2019s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1), which had been built on the site of the former Launch Complex 13 (LC-13).<\/p>\n
Successful landings have since been achieved via both the ASDS and RTLS approaches. Typically SpaceX uses the ASDS for missions which require more performance from the rocket \u2013 and which therefore do not have sufficient fuel for the booster to fly back to its launch site after separation. When carrying its heaviest payloads, where mission requirements dictate that even an ASDS landing would not be possible, the first stage is expended.<\/p>\n
Before it was delayed from the end of last month, SpaceX had planned to attempt recovery of B1044 following the Hispasat 30W-6 launch. The company\u2019s recovery fleet, including the drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, put to sea on 21 February to support what would, if it had been attempted, have been SpaceX\u2019s most ambitious core recovery attempt to date.<\/p>\n