CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX on Monday fired the nine main engines of a previously flown Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center ahead of a planned launch this weekend.
Known as a "static test fire," the rocket successfully completed a check of its countdown procedure, Merlin engine firing and subsequent shutdown at pad 39A around 4:30 p.m, News 6 partner Florida Today reported.
Recommended Videos
Teams will now attach the payload, a commercial communications satellite labeled EchoStar 105 / SES-11, atop the second stage of the rocket before Saturday's two-hour launch window opens at 6:53 p.m.
The 11,000-pound EchoStar 105 / SES-11 is a dual-mission spacecraft for Colorado-based EchoStar and Luxembourg-based SES. The communications satellite will cover a swath of North America, including all 50 U.S. states and parts of Mexico and the Caribbean.
Saturday's mission marks SpaceX's third attempt at flying a previously launched booster. SES was the first customer to fly on a recycled rocket when SpaceX made history and launched the SES-10 satellite, landing on the drone ship shortly after.
The Hawthorne, California-based company has so far successfully landed 16 of its first stages on both coasts.