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 After waiting almost an hour for cloudy skies to clear, the
22-story Falcon 9 rocket bolted off its seaside launch pad at 7:03
p.m. (2303 GMT).
Perched on top of the rocket was a Spacebus 4000 telecommunications
satellite, built by Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture of Thales
SA and Finmeccanica SpA.
Once in orbit, the five-ton (4,500-kg) satellite, known as
TurkmenAlem52E, will become Turkmenistan’s first telecommunications
spacecraft, relaying television broadcasts and other services to
more than 1.2 billion people in Central Asia, Europe, the Middle
East and North Africa, according to Thales Alenia Space.
“The launch is a vital first step in Turkmenistan’s development as a
space nation,” Jean Loic Galle, president and chief executive of
Thales Alenia Space, said in a SpaceX webcast video before launch.
 From its perch 22,300 miles above Earth, the satellite, designed to
last 15 years, will be located in a slot controlled by Monaco. In
exchange for letting Turkmenistan operate there, Monaco’s satellite
operator, Space Systems International, has use of 12 of the
spacecraft’s Ku-band transponders.
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Monday’s launch was the 18th for Space Exploration Technologies, the
privately owned, California-based company known as SpaceX, and its
second in less than two weeks.
SpaceX has been experimenting with landing the rockets on an ocean
barge, but skipped the test after Monday’s launch because the rocket
needed all its fuel to properly position TurkmenAlem52E into its
initial orbit.
Landing attempts are expected to resume in June when SpaceX launches
its next cargo ship to the International Space Station, which flies
about 250 miles (418 km) above Earth.
(Reporting by Irene Kotz in Cape Canaveral, Florida; Editing by
Leslie Adler)
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