SpaceX overcame unfavorable weather conditions on Tuesday to successfully launch two communications satellites for SES, one of its longest-standing customers. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 5:12 p.m. EDT (2112 UTC), carrying the ninth and tenth O3b mPOWER satellites into medium Earth orbit (MEO), roughly 8,000 kilometers (4,971 miles) above the Earth.
Credit: SpaceX
capitalizing on an unexpected weather improvement during Tuesday’s launch window. Initially, the 45th Weather Squadron had projected only a 20% chance of favorable conditions, citing risks of cumulus cloud buildup, thunderstorms, and lightning around the Space Coast.
“An approaching surface front combined with above-normal moisture could create widespread showers and storms,” meteorologists warned in their prelaunch forecast. “A strong west-coast sea breeze would make Tuesday the more challenging day of the two-day launch window.”
By Tuesday afternoon, however, conditions improved significantly, with SpaceX announcing a 60% chance of favorable weather just before fueling began.
The Falcon 9 rocket tasked with this mission featured booster B1090, which has now completed its sixth flight. This same booster previously launched the last pair of O3b mPOWER satellites during its maiden voyage in December 2024. B1090 also supported several high-profile missions, including NASA’s Crew-10 flight, the Bandwagon 3 rideshare mission, and two Starlink batches (Starlink 6-67 and 10-18).
A little over eight and a half minutes after liftoff, B1090 executed another precision landing on the droneship Just Read the Instructions, stationed in the Atlantic. This marks the 129th successful landing for the vessel and the 478th booster recovery overall—a testament to SpaceX’s dominance in reusability.
The two new satellites, built by Boeing, were delivered to Florida in early July for final processing. They now join eight operational O3b mPOWER satellites in orbit, advancing SES’s next-generation connectivity network.
Michelle Parker, vice president of Boeing Space Mission Systems, hailed the satellites as “the most capable and flexible commercial satellites ever built.”
“Many of us have tried to connect to the internet from a plane or cruise ship, only to find the connection unreliable,” Parker said in a July 2 statement. “Our software-defined payload technology allows SES to deliver high-speed, reliable connectivity that adapts in real-time to user demand. It’s a game changer.”
SES plans to launch the 11th O3b mPOWER satellite in the summer of 2025, with the final two satellites (12 and 13) slated for 2026. The network officially began service in May 2025 following the commissioning of the seventh and eighth satellites.
The O3b mPOWER program has not been without setbacks. Electrical issues discovered in the first four satellites necessitated a series of design fixes, which SES began implementing starting with the seventh satellite. The fifth and sixth satellites were too far along in production to receive all modifications, but lessons learned are shaping the constellation’s future.
Adel Al-Saleh, CEO of SES, emphasized the strategic advantage of a scalable MEO network:
“Our approach allows us to incrementally add satellites, ensuring we meet customer demand while maintaining CapEx efficiency. Each new satellite not only expands our capacity but also improves the performance of the overall network.”
According to SES’s Q1 2025 earnings report, the company recorded an 8.4% year-over-year growth, despite a negative cash flow of €51 million ($59.7 million) due to heavy capital investment in the O3b mPOWER constellation. The company has recouped $58 million through an insurance claim linked to the electrical problems of the initial satellites.
Military Applications on the Horizon
Boeing has noted that technology from the O3b mPOWER program is feeding into its defense projects, particularly the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS)-11 and WGS-12 satellites being built for the U.S. Space Force. These next-generation satellites will feature “hardened” communications capabilities derived from the commercial mPOWER platform.
The WGS-11 mission has already been assigned to United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket under the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 program, while a launch provider for the $439.6 million WGS-12 satellite is yet to be determined.
With this successful launch, SpaceX continues to demonstrate its ability to adapt to challenging conditions while pushing the boundaries of rapid reusability. For SES, the expansion of the O3b mPOWER network is another step toward revolutionizing global connectivity—bringing high-speed internet to airplanes, cruise ships, and remote regions worldwide.
The next O3b mPOWER launch, expected in 2025, will mark the final push toward completing this cutting-edge MEO constellation.
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