SpaceX has successfully launched the Galaxy 37 communication Satellite to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) for Intelsat. The satellite was launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, USA. It will be raised to its operational orbit in geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) over the coming months and is expected to be operational by late 2023.
The Galaxy 37 satellite is a replacement for Intelsat’s aging satellites in GEO. It is a C-band-only communication satellite designed for television broadcasting in North America.
The satellite is based on the GEOStar-3 satellite Bus and is equipped with the IHI BT-4 propulsion module, which is also used on Cygnus and HTV, two ISS resupply vehicles. It is powered by two deployable solar arrays and batteries and has an expected lifespan of 15 years.
The Falcon 9 Block 5, SpaceX’s partially reusable two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle, was used to launch the satellite. The first stage of the Falcon 9 contains nine Merlin 1D+ sea-level engines. Its engines are ignited by triethylaluminum and triethylborane (TEA-TEB) and can lose an engine and still successfully place the payload into orbit.
The second stage of the Falcon 9 is expendable and contains a singular MVacD engine. It is capable of performing multiple burns to put payloads in different orbits. The Falcon 9 fairing consists of two reusable halves.
The booster used for the Galaxy 37 mission was B1077-6, which had already supported five previous missions. It successfully landed on SpaceX’s drone ship, “Just Read The Instructions.”
Overall, the successful launch of the Galaxy 37 satellite demonstrates SpaceX’s continued ability to deploy communication satellites and contribute to the expansion of global connectivity.
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