SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket launched on its inaugural mission from Launch Pad 39A NASA's Kennedy Space Center, February 6, 2018.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket has a new passenger.
Representatives from Astranis announced Thursday, Sept. 23, that the Falcon Heavy will launch Astranis' first commercial communication satellite into orbit next spring.
The satellite that will beam internet service to Alaskans from geostationary orbit is approximately 22,200 miles (35.730 km) above the Earth. It was previously planned to ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9
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John Gedmark, CEO of Astranis, stated that Falcon Heavy's launch will allow us to orbit the Earth faster and enable us to service customers in Alaska much sooner. This is a big win for Alaskan customers.
Astranis' Alaska-serving satellite is just the beginning, if everything goes according to plan.
"By owning and operating its satellites and offering them to customers as a turnkey solution, Astranis is able to provide bandwidth-as-a-service and unlock previously unreachable markets," representatives of the San Francisco-based company wrote in the same statement. This allows Astranis, Fortune 500 companies, existing satellite operator customers, and small-sized countries to launch dedicated satellites.
Astranis' satellite, weighing in at 880 pounds (400 kgs), will share space on Falcon Heavy with Viasat-3, another communication craft from California. Viasat-3 will operate the Falcon Heavy.
Although Falcon Heavy has only three launches to its name, it is poised for a lot of work over the next months. Two classified missions are planned for the U.S. Space Force. The first will take off next month. Soon after, the Viasat-3/Astranis flight is scheduled. The Falcon Heavy manifest also contains NASA's Psyche asteroid missions, which are scheduled to launch next August.
Other high-profile missions will be flown by the rocket in the near future including NASA's ice hunting VIPER moon rover and Europa Clipper probe in 2020.
The Falcon Heavy is made up of three Falcon 9 first stages that have been modified and strapped together. The payload is carried by the second stage. The Falcon Heavy, like the Falcon 9 workhorse Falcon 9 is partially reusable. All three stages of the first stage are designed to return the Falcon Heavy to Earth, make vertical powered landings and fly again.
Mike Wall is the author and illustrator of "Out There" by Grand Central Publishing (2018). This book is about the search for alien life. Follow him @michaeldwall. Follow us on Facebook @Spacedotcom and Twitter @michaeldwall
