SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket-powered spaceflight was launched on Monday with a Thaicom 6 telecommunications satellite in Florida.
This launch is the second successful send off the space transport corporation owned by Elon Musk. The first was in December with its first commercial communications satellite.
The Falcon 9 rocket, which was carrying Thaicom 6 satellite, took off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station seaside launch pad and flew towards the satellite's drop-off point at 88,500 km above the Earth. After the drop-off, the 3,016 kg satellite will lower itself by roughly 52,612 km above the Earth and position itself in its orbit.
The satellite, which is created by Orbital Sciences Corp, is designed and expected to deliver a high definition and digital television services to its customers in Thailand and nearby regions including Southeast Asia and Africa.
Thaicom said in its website that the satellite, including its insurance and launch services, costs approximately $160 million, and 67 percent of the satellites capacity has already been bought.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the Hawthorne, Calif.-based company is also working on its own version of Dragon Cargo capsule that can carry astronauts to the space station and a 27-engine heavy lift Falcon rocket, which is scheduled to blast off this year.
The corporation is also proud to announce that it has a total of 50 future launches under contract, with two thirds for commercial clients.
The consistent success of SpaceX's launching could mean that it is qualified to host the launching of U.S. military reconnaissance and communications satellites, a service exclusively provided by United Launch Alliance -- a joint venture of Lockheed Martin and Boeing founded in 2006.
Orbital Sciences, on the other hand, is gearing up to launch the first of its eight station cargo runs this Wednesday. The launch will cast the corporations' Antares spaceships that will depart from a spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia.
