The Telstar 19 Vantage communications satellite was launched at 0550 GMT on 22 June on a Falcon 9v1.3FT Block 5 from Cape Canaveral. The first stage, having separated two a half minutes after lift-off as planned, successfully landed on the drone “Of Course I Still Love You” ship some eight minutes and 30 seconds after launch. This new Block 5 first stage is designed to be reused 10 times.
Still from TV pictures showing release of Telstar 19 Vantage into transfer orbit. Courtesy: SpaceX
With a mass of 7,076 kg, the Telstar 19 Vantage is the heaviest commercial spacecraft launched so far to a sub-synchronous geosynchronous transfer orbit – one with an apogee of only circa 17,863 km (perigee 243 km) rather than 36,000 km, with a 27 degree inclination.
In other words, the satellite will use its own fuel to achieve the apogee raising, as well as to raise the perigee to that amount, and remove the inclination. The Telstar 19 Vantage is designed to provide high throughput communications services to South America.
