SpaceX to launch Thuraya 4-NGS telecommunications satellite on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now
A rendering of the Thuraya 4-NGS satellite on orbit. Graphic: Space42
SpaceX is preparing for its first Falcon 9 launch of 2025, which will launch a telecommunications satellite designed to serve regions in Africa, Central Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
Liftoff of the Thuraya 4-NGS (Next Generation System) mission from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 3 at 8:27 p.m. EST (0127 UTC), the opening of a four-hour launch window.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about an hour prior to liftoff.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster for this mission, tail number B1073 in the SpaceX fleet, will launch for a 20th time. It previously launched the CRS-27 mission to the International Space Station, ispace’s Hakuto-R Mission 1, Bandwagon-1 and 13...