SpaceX Targets Friday Launch For Intelsat's IS-40e — Satellite Aimed At Boosting Network Coverage

Elon Musk‘s SpaceX is looking at April 7 to launch the Intelsat 40e, or IS-40E, mission to geosynchronous orbit.

What Happened: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is expected to launch the IS-40e mission from Space Launch Complex in Florida on Friday to a geosynchronous transfer orbit, the spacecraft manufacturer said in a statement.

The launch window, which is 119 minutes long, opens at 12:30 a.m. ET. Backup launch opportunity has been ascertained for April 8 at 12:29 a.m. ET.

“When in geosynchronous orbit over North America, the communication satellite will provide focused coverage for many of Intelsat's customers, including commercial aviation, mobility and networks,” Intelsat said in a tweet.

The satellites will further track air pollution with NASA‘s pollution-monitoring payload called TEMPO.

TEMPO, or Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, will be part of a virtual constellation of air pollution monitors, which also include Korean Aerospace Research Institute GEO-KOMPSAT-2B satellite and European Space Agency Sentinel-4 satellite.

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Intelsat, a satellite-based communications provider, serves seven of the world’s top 10 mobile network operators and has 56 satellites.

Last week, it was reported that Luxembourg-based satellite telecom company SES SA SGBAF is in talks with Intelsat SA to create a new satellite company. However, no transaction has been announced yet.

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