SpaceX will set a record for launching a satellite weighing 9.2 tons

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is expected to put the heaviest commercial satellite in history into geostationary orbit at an altitude of 35,785km.

SpaceX will launch the heaviest commercial satellite in history into geostationary orbit with a Falcon Heavy rocket early next year, after several delays, Interesting Engineering reported on May 17.

Jupiter-3 will have a maximum bandwidth of 500 gigabits per second, covering North and South America, Canada, and Mexico.

In March, the EchoStar company announced the selection of SpaceX to launch the Jupiter-3 communication satellite built by satellite manufacturer Maxar Technologies. Also according to this announcement, Jupiter-3 will launch in the fourth quarter of 2022.

But in early May, EchoStar said, manufacturer Maxar Technologies was delayed in completing the Jupiter-3 satellite. Therefore, the satellite will launch in early 2023 at the earliest. Maxar Technologies also announced that Jupiter-3 satellite (also known as Echostar 24) is expected to weigh about 9.2 tons - much heavier than previous estimates. is 5.8 tons.

In July 2018, SpaceX set a record for the heaviest commercial geostationary satellite launch in history when it launched the 7,076-ton Telstar 19V satellite into a geostationary transition orbit (GTO). This record will probably be broken with Jupiter-3. Jupiter-3 is possibly the heaviest of all vehicles ever launched into geostationary orbit at an altitude of 35,785 km above the Earth's surface.

However, the Ariane 5 rocket of Arianespace company still holds the record for the heaviest total cargo launched to GTO with two communication satellites weighing 10.27 tons.

Jupiter-3 will provide a maximum bandwidth of 500 gigabits per second, covering North and South America, Canada, and Mexico. The satellite was originally scheduled to launch in early 2021, but was delayed due to the effects of Covid-19.