Cape Canaveral is set to host the final chapter of SES's O3b mPOWER satellite constellation, as SpaceX prepares to lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with three remaining satellites for the Luxembourg-based telecommunications company.
The launch window for the O3b mPOWER-F mission opens at 2:49 p.m. ET and closes at 4:16 p.m. ET, with a backup opportunity available the following Monday at the same time if conditions require a scrub.
Carrying the payload will be Falcon 9 first-stage booster B1080, making its 29th flight — a remarkable milestone that includes two crewed missions to the International Space Station (Axiom Mission 2 and Axiom Mission 3), the Euclid space telescope launch, a Cygnus cargo run, and 22 Starlink missions, among others. After stage separation, B1080 is expected to touch down on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
Once in medium Earth orbit, the three new satellites will join 10 already in place, completing the full O3b mPOWER constellation. SES says the network serves mobility, government, enterprise, and cloud customers globally, and the company described the completed constellation as reinforcing its leadership in MEO connectivity.
This story was reported by Anthony Leone for Spectrum News 13.
