Wednesday night SpaceX launch from Kennedy Space Center sends SpainSat to orbit

A quiet, clear Wednesday night in Brevard County was brought to life by the bright glow and roar of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The SpainSat NG-1 satellite launched right on time at 8:34 p.m. from Kennedy Space Center's Pad 39A. The rocket rumbled loudly as it headed on an eastern trajectory.

Just over eight minutes into the flight, the second-stage and satellite safely reached Earth orbit.

The Falcon 9 first-stage booster used on this launch saw its 21st and final flight. SpaceX said the reason it was not trying to recover the booster was due to the extra power needed to reach the satellite's intended orbit. This booster was already well traveled. Its previous missions include: 13 Starlink missions, SES-22, ispace's HAKUTO-R MISSION 1, Amazonas-6, CRS-27, Bandwagon-1, GSAT-20, and Thuraya-4.

Thirty-one minutes into the flight, the second-stage broke away as planned, deploying the satellite into geostationary orbit.

What is SpainSat NG-1?

The airbus-built satellite, known as SpainSat NG-1 (New Generation), is the first of two satellites for Hisdesat. A promotional video for the satellite played during the SpaceX webcast on Wednesday stated "The SpainSat NG program will provide a sovereign, secure communications capability for government missions with two new generation satellites based on Airbus' Eurostar Neo platform, which is developed under the European Space Agency's (ESA) Partnership projects."

The SpainSat NG-1 will provide this service over Europe, Africa and the Americas.

It's the satellite's antennas that make it unique.

"Something as complex as the DRAs antennas in X-Band, an active antenna that can move the beam electronically and can configure the beam electronically without any movement is what makes this satellite the most advanced one in Europe today," said Ángel García Primo, CEO of Hisdesat in a promotional video for the satellite.

Hisdesat states the satellite includes "beam hoping and geolocation capabilities, enabling artificial intelligence, big data, and an internet of things on the ground."

The antennas were developed by Airbus in Spain. Thales Alenia Space in Spain oversaw the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) and Ka-band payloads.

The satellite is expected to have a 15-year lifespan.

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Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.