SpaceX Launches Two German Military Reconnaissance Rockets

Launches of SARAH-2 and SARAH-3 with Falcon 9 rockets (photo: twitter @SpaceX)

JAKARTA – SpaceX, Elon Musk's commercial space company, successfully launched two reconnaissance satellites belonging to the German Armed Forces. These two satellites are SARah-2 and SARah-3.

This satellite was launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Sunday, December 24 at 20.11 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB). According to SpaceX's report on its official social media, these two satellites were launched on a Falcon 9 rocket.

After successfully launching from the SLC-4E Launchpad, the first stage of the Falcon 9 landed again at Landing Zone 4. This landing took place about eight minutes after the launch rocket was deployed by the company.

Supposedly, SARah-2 and SARah-3 were launched earlier on December 23. However, SpaceX needed to undergo additional checks so the launch schedule was postponed. Luckily, SpaceX didn't experience any problems during the launch.

OHB, the company responsible for the SARah launch, said it was happy with the success of the Falcon 9. They were confident that SARah-2 and SARah-3 were in orbit because the two satellites had sent the first signal.

“It is a great pleasure and relief to know that both satellites are safely in orbit. "The fact that we were able to experience this special moment was a team effort and was made possible thanks to the entire SARah team and fellow supporters from OHB," explained OHB in their official release.

SARah-2 and SARah-3 have entered the Launch and Initial Orbit Phase (LEOP). In this phase, one by one the systems of the two satellites will be booted, then the system's function will be checked while circling orbit.