Tuesday, June 14, 2011

SpaceX Gets Launch Contract In Asia

Hawthorne-based SpaceX, the commercial rocket firm of Elon Musk, said this morning that it has been chosen by Thai satellite company THAICOM Plc., to launch a new telecommunications satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX did not say how much the contract is worth, but said the satellite will launch in the second quarter of 2013. The company said the contract is the eighth, non-U.S. customer now on its manifest. The Thaicom 6 satellite will provide satellite television coverage in South and South-East Asia, as well as Southern Africa, and was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation.

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