Space.com reported the mission as follows, “SpaceX launched a Swedish broadband satellite tonight (Jan. 3) on the company’s second mission of 2024. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Ovzon 3 satellite lifted off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight at 6:04 p.m. EST (2304 GMT).
The Falcon 9’s first stage returned to Earth tonight as planned, touching down back at Cape Canaveral about eight minutes after liftoff. It was the 10th launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.
The Falcon 9’s upper stage, meanwhile, continued carrying Ovzon 3 skyward. It deployed the spacecraft in geosynchronous transfer orbit about 38.5 minutes after launch as planned, SpaceX announced in a post on X.
Ovzon 3 is “the first privately funded and developed Swedish geostationary satellite,” EverydayAstronaut.com wrote. “It is a communications satellite which will cover 1/3 of the Earth via its steerable spot beams, meeting the demand for better mobile broadband coverage in under-served regions.”
Please use the following spaceX.com link for a replay of the launch and description of the mission.
Home