SES-8
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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the SES-8 communications satellite launches from Cape Canaveral SLC-40.
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| Mission type | Communication |
|---|---|
| Operator | SES |
| COSPAR ID | 2013-071A |
| SATCAT no. | 39460 |
| Mission duration | 15 years |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | Star-2.4 |
| Manufacturer | Orbital Sciences |
| Launch mass | 3,170 kilograms (6,990 lb) |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 3 December 2013, 22:41 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 v1.1 |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral SLC-40 |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Geostationary |
| Longitude | 95° East |
| Perigee | 35,780 kilometres (22,230 mi) |
| Apogee | 35,806 kilometres (22,249 mi) |
| Inclination | 0.03 degrees |
| Period | 1436.15 minutes |
| Epoch | 24 January 2015, 19:17:11 UTC |
| Transponders | |
| Band | 33 Ku-band |
SES-8 is a geostationary communication satellite operated by SES. SES-8 was successfully launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 on 3 December 2013, 22:41 UTC.
It was the first flight of any SpaceX launch vehicle to a supersynchronous transfer orbit, an orbit with a somewhat larger apogee than the more usual Geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) typically utilized for communication satellites.
The SES-8 satellite is built on the STAR-2.4 satellite bus by Orbital Sciences. It is the sixth satellite of that model to be built for SES.
The commsat will be initially co-located at 95° East with NSS-6 in order to provide communications bandwidth growth capacity in the Asia-Pacific region, specifically aimed at high-growth markets in South Asia and Indo-China, "as well as provide expansion capacity for DTH, VSAT and government applications."
The launch of SES-8 was the seventh launch of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, and the second launch of the Falcon 9 v1.1. SES is paying a discounted price—"well under US$60 million"—for the launch since it is the inaugural geostationary launch on the Falcon 9. When originally contracted, in 2011 the putative launch date was early 2013.
The launch was the second launch of the Falcon 9 v1.1 version of the rocket, a longer rocket with 60 percent more thrust than version 1.0 Falcon 9 vehicle, and will be the first launch of the larger v1.1 rocket using the rebuilt erector structure at SpaceX' Cape Canaveral launch pad. As a result, a number of systems on the launch vehicle will be being flown for only the second time, while several parts of the ground infrastructure at Cape Canaveral were used in a launch for the first time. These include:
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