SpaceX launches commercial satellite for S.Korea

Washington Oct 31 (IANS) US aerospace firm SpaceX has launched a commercial communications satellite for South Korea and then landed the rocket on a floating drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

A SpaceX two-stage Falcon 9 rocket carrying the KoreaSat 5A communications satellite took from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday Xinhua news agency reported.

The satellite was deployed to a geostationary transfer orbit about 36 minutes after liftoff.

KoreaSat 5A operated by KT SAT South Korea s sole satellite service provider is a replacement for Koreasat-5 which was launched in 2006. It will provide direct-to-home broadcasting and other communications services in South Korea Japan and Southeast Asia.

Unlike other satellites in the Koreasat fleet Koreasat-5A will also provide maritime coverage of the Persian Gulf Indian Ocean South China Sea and East China Sea SpaceX said.

In addition to delivering the satellite the Falcon 9 had a secondary mission of attempting to land the rocket s first-stage on the "Of Course I Still Love You" drone ship positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.

That occurred successfully about eight minutes after liftoff.

To date SpaceX has returned and landed a Falcon 9 s first stage 19 times on land and at sea.

Such landings are part of SpaceX s efforts to develop fully reusable rockets which the California-based company believed could bring down spaceflight costs.

--IANS
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