Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched a communications satellite for SiriusXM early Sunday from Florida in the first such mission since one of the broadcast company’s spacecraft failed after launch in December.
June 6 (UPI) — Elon Musk ’s SpaceX launched a communications satellite for SiriusXM early Sunday from Florida in the first such mission since one of the broadcast company’s spacecraft failed after launch in December. The satellite, known as SXM-8, was lifted aboard a Falcon 9 rocket at 12:26 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch, which occurred at the start of a nearly 2-hour window, was the company’s 18th launch of the year. It carried the SXM-8 digital radio satellite into orbit for Sirius XM’s 34 million subscribers, according to the company. A malfunction of the company’s previous satellite, SXM-7, led to the total loss of the spacecraft after SpaceX successfully launched it.
