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Live coverage: SpaceX to launch mystery ‘Optus-X’ on Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center
- SpaceX is preparing to launch a Falcon 9 rocket with a payload that has been shrouded in secrecy to the point of not disclosing any specifics of the mission.
- All regulatory filings and U.S. government agencies like the Space Force and the Federal Aviation Administration call the payload ‘Optus-X,’ while SpaceX calls the mission ‘TD7.’
- The launch from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center is targeting the beginning of an almost two-hour launch window, which opens at 4:29 p.m. EST.
- Weather for launch is about as good as it gets on Florida’s Space Coast.
- Following liftoff, SpaceX will have tied the total number of Space Shuttle launches from Launch Complex 39A with just its Falcon 9 rocket.
- Booster recovery area does remain somewhat of a watch item.
- The payload flying on the mission dubbed ‘TD7’ on SpaceX’s webpage will head to a geosynchronous transfer orbit.
- The name ‘Optus-X’ was referenced by the FAA in its flight schedule and by the U.S. Space Force when making its launch weather forecast.
- Filings with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) state that Optus is a subsidiary of Singtel Optus Pty. Ltd., which in turn is a subsidiary of Singapore Telecom Australia Investments Pty. Ltd.
- A Northrop Grumman official referred questions about the mission to Optus, which has not responded to Spaceflight Now’s requests for additional information.
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