Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Solar Energy News .




LAUNCH PAD
SpaceX launches AsiaSat8 into orbit via Falcon 9 rocket
by Brooks Hays
Cape Canaveral, Fla. (UPI) Aug 5, 2014


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

SpaceX took a break from launching resupply missions to the International Space Station in order to put a new commercial satellite into orbit.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, blasting off early Tuesday morning. The rocket carried with it AsiaSat8, a new commercial satellite expected to dramatically boost video and broadband services in Asia and the South Pacific.

Thirty-two minutes into the flight, the Falcon 9 rocket relinquished its satellite companion, and now it's floating 22,300 miles above the equator. It's the first of two AsiaSat satellites SpaceX will launch this month, taking the growing communication company's fleet from four to six. The second will be launched later in August.

"These are growth satellites for us," William Wade, AsiaSat president and CEO, told Florida Today. "They are adding additional capacity in existing, growing markets that will help us to provide additional services to our customers and help that market expand."

Soon, SpaceX's growing satellite-launching business will have a launchpad of its own. The private space company announced this week it would build the world's first commercial launchpad. An $85 million investment from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is expected to bring more than 300 high-tech jobs to Brownsville, a South Texas border town.

SpaceX choose the small Texas town after Governor Rick Perry dipped into the Texas Enterprise Fund to secure Musk's company $15.3 million in incentives.

"Texas has been on the forefront of our nation's space exploration efforts for decades, so it is fitting that SpaceX has chosen our state as they expand the frontiers of commercial space flight," Perry said in a statement earlier this week.

.


Related Links
Launch Pad at Space-Travel.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








LAUNCH PAD
SpaceX releases video of rocket splashing into the ocean
Los Angeles (UPI) Jul 25, 2013
Aerospace company SpaceX has released a video of its attempt to return part of its Falcon 9 rocket to Earth. It's what SpaceX engineers call a "soft landing," though "soft" in this case is a relative term. SpaceX wants to eventually be able to reuse one of the rocket's boosters, from one launch to the next - a shortcut that could end up saving lots of time and money - so engineers hav ... read more


LAUNCH PAD
Regulations needed to identify potentially invasive biofuel crops

Spinach could lead to alternative energy more powerful than Popeye

Biofuels benefit energy security, Secretary Moniz says

German laws make biogas a bad bet, RWE Innogy says

LAUNCH PAD
Hitchhiking robot thumbs its way across Canada

Japanese leader proposes first-ever 'Robot Olympics'

Astronauts to Test Free-Flying "Housekeeper" Robots

This time for the PLA: Chinese army shows off dancing robots

LAUNCH PAD
Japan's Marubeni gets capital for Westernmost Rough wind project

Victoria tweaks Wind Farm Planning Rules

Low-carbon pool growing in British economy

Portuguese consortium to spend $300 million on wind

LAUNCH PAD
Audi says will 'accept penalty' in China anti-monopoly probe

Shine a light: Chinese police crack down on headlight misuse

Tesla settles trademark row with China businessman

China to punish Audi, Chrysler for 'monopoly' acts

LAUNCH PAD
Chemists develop MRI technique for peeking inside battery-like devices

Used-cigarette butts offer energy storage solution

All-in-one system offers green power for off-grid homes and farms

'Wetting' a battery's appetite for renewable energy storage

LAUNCH PAD
EDF Energy says shuts down nuclear reactors in Britain

Fukushima operator unveils newest tainted-water plan

Toshiba orders DCIS technology for Fukushima plant cleanup

Ex-TEPCO execs should be charged over Fukushima: panel

LAUNCH PAD
Air traffic growth set to outpace carbon reduction efforts

U.K. says it's positioned to lead carbon capture development

Research proves there is power in numbers to reduce electricity bills

Italy agrees to sell energy grid stake to China

LAUNCH PAD
Forests for the future: Kenya's carbon credit scheme

Selective logging takes its toll on mammals, amphibians

Urban heat boosts some pest populations 200-fold, killing red maples

Borneo deforested 30 percent over past 40 years




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.