July 13 (UPI) — SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Sunday carrying an Israel Aerospace Industries communications satellite, a payload that had been kept largely secret until liftoff.
“We at IAI are extremely proud of the development and successful launch into space of the State of Israel’s ‘Dror 1’ national communications satellite, Boaz Levy, CEO and President of IAI said in a statement. “Dror 1 is the most advanced communications satellite ever built in Israel, designed to preserve this national strategic capability in the country while providing Israel with essential satellite communications capabilities for years to come.”
The satellite, which weighs 4.5 tons and spans nearly 60 feet in diameter when its solar panels are fully deployed, is scheduled to reach its fixed point destination over Earth in about two weeks.
SpaceX has only been involved in a handful of such secret missions.
This was the 13th mission for the stage one 9 booster rocket that sent the Falcon 9 into low-Earth orbit. About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the rocket landed on the droneship “Just Read the Instructions,” which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 128th time the droneship has been used to retrieve a returning craft, and was the 474th SpaceX booster rocket landing overall.