SpaceX launches satellite for SiriusXM from Florida
June 7 (UPI) -- SpaceX launched SiriusXM's second new satellite into orbit from Florida early Saturday after five delays.
The Falcon 9 lifted off at 12:54 a.m. EDT from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
About 8 1/2 minutes later, the first-stage booster landed on SpaceX's drone ship "A Shortfall of Gravitas" in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the eighth flight for the Falcon 9 booster, including a Crew-9 and three Starlink missions.
After 33 minutes, the 4,100-pound SXM-10 satellite was sent to a geosynchronous transfer orbit high above Earth, meaning it is synchronous with the planet's rotation.
It was SpaceX's 48th orbital rocket launch this year from Cape Canaveral or nearby Kennedy Space Center. Counting the California launch site, there have been 69 Falcon 9 missions with 51 involving Starlink in 2025, Space.com reported.
Earlier Friday, there was a lightning warning for the area, Florida Today reported.
On Dec. 5, SpaceX launched the SXM-9 for SiriusXM. In all, SiriusXM will have seven functional satellites with SXM-10's availability.
Maxar Space Systems built both satellites, which beam radio and internet programming for SiriusXM's subscribers in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The SXM-10 satellite arrived at Cape Canaveral on May 15.
"This latest satellite marks another milestone in our over two-decade partnership with SiriusXM, supporting the continued evolution of their satellite radio network," Maxar posted on X.
SiriusXM is planning to launch two more satellites.
"SiriusXM is committed to cutting-edge technology and enhancing the proprietary satellite delivery systems that help power our audio entertainment and information service offerings," Bridget Neville, SiriusXM's senior vice president and general manager of Signal Distribution Engineering said in December, adding they "will strengthen the health of our satellite fleet for decades to come and allow our team to continue innovating far into the future."
The next Falcon 9 launch of Starlink satellites is scheduled for 6:34 a.m. PDT Sunday from Vandenberg Space Force Base's pad 4E in California.
In Florida, SpaceX next plans to launch the fourth Axiom private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The Dragon mission is scheduled for 8:22 a.m. Tuesday from Kennedy Space Center pad 39A in conjunction with NASA.
Axiom Space and SpaceX are planning coverage to start at 6:15 a.m. and NASA at 7:25 a.m.
Peggy Whitson, a former NASA astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, will command the commercial mission.
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