After delaying the launch of Galaxy 37/Horizons-4 due to weather concerns Falcon 9 lifted off from SLC-40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Galaxy 37/Horizons-4 is a geostationary communications satellite manufactured by Maxar and operated by Intelsat once released from its launch vehicle. The booster for this mission was B1077 making its sixth launch and landed successfully at sea on SpaceX's drone ship 'Just Read the Instructions'.
What is Galaxy 37/Horizons-4?
Galaxy 37/Horizons-4 is a replacement for Intelsats older satellites out in geosynchronous orbit and is a C-band-only communication satellite. The satellites have an expected lifespan of 15 years on orbit and are powered by two deployable solar arrays to recharge their batteries. Once out in geosynchronous orbit, the satellite is expected to provide television broadcasting and telecommunication services to North America. In a press release ahead of launch Intelsat said the following about the satellite;
"Galaxy 37/Horizons-4 (G-37/H-4) advances Intelsat’s comprehensive Galaxy fleet refresh plan. The G-37 C-band payload will provide North American capacity for television media and telecommunication network customers. The H-4 Ku-band payload will provide continuity for our mobility, network and U.S. government customers and will be owned jointly by Intelsat and JSAT International, the U.S.-owned subsidiary of SKY Perfect JSAT Corp."
Galaxy 37/Horizons-4 is part of six new satellites for Intelsat that if operational by the 5th of December 2023 will result in Intelsat receiving $4.87 billion from the Federal Communication Commission in their attempts to clear the 300 MHz spectrum, which is used in cellular 5G networks.
What is Falcon 9?
Falcon 9 is currently the world's only operational partially reusable medium-lift rocket and has two stages both burning kerosene and liquid oxygen. Falcon 9 in its current form is called Block 5 which is the final major revision to the rocket by SpaceX as it gears up for Starship orbital launches and operations in the future. SpaceX claims that Falcon 9 can send 22,800 kilograms into low Earth orbit when expended or 17,400 kilograms when reused. Similarly, it can send 8,300 kilograms into geosynchronous transfer orbit when expended or 5,500 kilograms when reused. So far the Block 5 version of Falcon 9 has launched 186 times successfully and landed 184 times with no failures for either.