Update 3:56 p.m. EST: SpaceX updated the launch time of the mission.
Update 4:08 p.m. EST: SpaceX pushed back the launch time of the mission.
Update 6:04 p.m. ESt: SpaceX landed its first stage booster on the droneship, following liftoff of the mission.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at sunset with a payload that has been shrouded in secrecy to the point of not disclosing any specifics of the mission, and not using its original name.
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.’ SpaceX’s commentator noted that it was a communications satellite during the company’s livestream.
Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, Nov. 17, happened at 5:28 p.m. EST (2228 UTC).
With this launch, SpaceX tied the total number of Space Shuttle launches from Launch Complex 39A with just its Falcon 9 rocket at 82 launches each. SpaceX is also close to eclipsing the total number of launches from NASA at that pad.
NASA launched a total of 94 missions (82 Space Shuttle and 12 Saturn 5) from LC-39A and to date, SpaceX launched 93 missions (81 Falcon 9 and 11 Falcon Heavy).
The Falcon 9 first stage booster for this mission, tail number B1077 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for a 16th time. It previously supported the launches of three missions to the International Space Station (Crew-5, CRS-28 and Cygnus NG-20), GPS 3 Space Vehicle 06 and nine previous Starlink missions.
Nearly nine minutes after liftoff, B1077 touched down on the SpaceX droneship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas.’ This was the 85th booster landing on ASOG and the 369th booster landing to date.
Secret payload
The payload flying on the mission dubbed ‘TD7’ on SpaceX’s webpage headed to a geosynchronous transfer orbit, but timing of deployment was not disclosed prior to the launch.
A number of publications have offered speculation regarding the functionality of the Optus-X spacecraft, claiming that it is the fulfillment of a contract announced in 2022 between Northrop Grumman and SpaceLogistics for a Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) spacecraft on behalf of Optus Networks Party Limited (Optus), an Australian telecommunications company.
However, Spaceflight Now understands that Sunday’s mission is not the execution of that contract. SpaceX affirmed during its broadcast that the payload was a communications satellite.
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., which is in turn is a subsidiary of SingTel Australia Investment Ltd., a British Virgin Islands investment holding company.
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. The name also appeared in a FCC filing in late October relating to the use of an Intelsat ground station for post-launch checkouts:
“On October 28, 2024, Intelsat License LLC was granted special temporary authority for 30 days, beginning on October 28, 2024 through November 26, 2024, to operate its Ka-band antenna in Nuevo, CA, to provide launch and early orbit phase (LEOP) services to communicate with the Optus X satellite at the 29.625 GHz and 29.630 GHz (Earth-to-space) and 19.825 GHz and 19.830 GHz (space-to-Earth) center frequencies.”
In the letter requesting that special temporary authority (STA) dated Sept. 24, 2024, from W. Ray Rutngamlug, Intelsat’s Associate General Counsel, to FCC Secretary Marlene Dortch, Rutngamlug stated in a footnote that Optus X will operate at the 87.75 degrees east longitude.
“Grant of this STA request will allow Intelsat to help launch the Optus X satellite,” Rutngamlug wrote. “This will allow Optus X to provide capacity at the nominal 88.0° E.L. location and thereby promotes the public interest.”
Rutngamlug also confirmed Northrop Grumman’s role in the mission.
“Intelsat clarifies that during the Optus X mission, Northrop Grumman will serve as the mission manager,” he wrote. “Northrop Grumman will build and send the commands to the Intelsat antenna, which will process and execute the commands. Telemetry received by Intelsat will be forwarded to Northrop Grumman.”
A Northrop Grumman official referred questions about the mission to Optus, which has not responded to Spaceflight Now’s requests for additional information.