Eight down & (at least) nine to go: SpaceX's Falcon 9 faces crowded year-end manifest

摘要

SpaceX successfully placed the JCSat-16 commercial telecommunications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit Aug. 14 and landed the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Space Systems Loral, the satellite's builder, said the satellite was healthy in orbit and sending signals after separation from the Falcon 9 some 33 minutes after launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.