UPDATE: Success as the SpaceX launch took place on Friday, April 7th., of the Intelsat IS-40E mission to GEO from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida to a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GEO).
Intelsat 40e (IS-40e) will provide focused coverage over North America for commercial aviation, mobility, and networks customers, and will monitor and track air pollution across North America with NASA’s hosted payload TEMPO.
Intelsat-40e is hosting NASA’s climate payload called Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO).
GEORIX, developed by Beyond Gravity (formerly RUAG Space), delivered this geostationary navigation receiver, and an antenna to Maxar in 2021. The receiver precisely determines a satellite’s position in orbit.
Maxar installed GEORIX on IS-40E and this unit will help TEMPO determine where it is in orbit as it measures atmospheric gases — including ozone, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde, and aerosols — over North America. Data collected by TEMPO will help improve air quality forecasting.
The Falcon 9 first stage booster supporting this mission previously launched CRS-26, OneWeb Launch 16, and one Starlink mission.
Following stage separation, the Falcon 9’s first stage successfully landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
