Following a two week delay to allow extra checks on the sensor system on the rocket, and delays of several months as SpaceX struggled to get it into their launch schedule, a SpaceX Falcon 9 V1.1 finally successfully launched the communications satellite Asiasat 6 into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) at 0500 GMT on 7 September 2014. The successful flight followed a similar SpaceX Falcon 9V1.1 launch in August which carried the satellite’s stablemate, Asiasat 8. Asiasat reportedly paid US$52.2 million for each of the flights.
The 4,428kg Asiasat 6 spacecraft was built by the satellite constructor, Space Systems/Loral using a version of its LS-1300 bus design. The mission, including the satellite, its launch and insurance, is valued at US$190 million and, after the satellite’s final positioning, will operate from over 120 degrees East in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO). This position is actually owned by Thaicom which will use half of the spacecraft’s payload for its own services. The spacecraft is also known as Thaicom 7.
