SpaceX launches Nusantara Satu and SpaceIL Lunar Lander

This evening SpaceX completed their second launch of the year with the successful delivery of the SSL built the Nusantara Satu satellite for PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN), the SpaceIL’s lunar spacecraft Beresheet (Hebrew for “in the beginning”) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) S5 experimental small spacecraft.

This was the third flight for the first stage booster 1048 which previously launched ten Iridium Next satellites in July 2018 and the SAOCOM 1A satellite in October 2018.

Following liftoff the first stage successfully landed on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship Of Course I Still Love You. Which according to SpaceX was their most difficult landing to date.

During the coast phase of the mission Elon Musk indicated that this same booster would be used for the Crewed Dragon inflight abort test in April making it the first booster to be used four times.

The SpaceIL Beresheet payload was deployed 33 minutes after launch to begin its two month journey to the moon. The Nusantara Satu satellite and AFRL S5 were deployed together 11 minutes later.


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