At 0526 GMT on 14 August 2016, a Falcon 9V1.2R rocket successfully placed the Japanese communications satellite JCSAT-16 into a 36,183 x 151 km Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) at 20.9 degrees inclination relative to the equator (orbit via Jonathan McDowell from JSPOC). The satellite is owned by the Japanese satellite operator SkyPerfect JSat.
The JCSat-16 spacecraft was originally intended to be an in orbit spare in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) location at 154 degrees East, but became required immediately at the geostationary location of 162 degrees East following the one year delay to Superbird-8 which was caused by damage in its transit to its launch site.
At 0535 GMT the rocket’s reusable first stage made a perfect landing on the SpaceX landing pad hundreds of kilometres down range on the landing barge “Of course I still love you”.
