SpaceX launches Egypt's Nilesat 301 telecom satellite into orbit

The satellite will replace predecessor Nilesat 201 and offer better internet access for remote areas of the country

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  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a Nilesat 301 geostationary communications satellite, lifts off from launch complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. AP Photo

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  The rocket flies over Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral. AP

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  The rocket is fired into the sky. AP Photo

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  The rocket leaves a trail of smoke behind. AP Photo

SpaceX has successfully launched the Egyptian telecoms satellite Nilesat 301 from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying the satellite, took at 11.04pm Cairo time on Wednesday.

Nilesat 301 will replace its predecessor, Nilesat 201, and has an expected lifespan of at least 15 years, Nilesat chief executive Ahmed Anis said as reported by state-owned newspaper Al Ahram.

Mr Anis said the new satellite will offer “expanded broadband internet services to cover Egypt, including remote areas, new projects, infrastructure projects, and new urban communities, as well as gas and oilfields in the eastern Mediterranean".

The 23rd Falcon 9 launch by SpaceX this year alone was the first time a satellite was carried towards a geostationary orbit, said space exploration website SpaceFlightNow.

SpaceX plans to launch up to five other Falcon 9 rockets this month.

Egypt was the first Arab nation to launch a telecoms satellite. Nilesat 101 went into orbit in 1998 and was followed by Nilesat 102 in two years later.

SpaceX has its own satellite service, Starlink, which provides high-speed, low latency broadband internet services to 32 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, the UK and Ukraine.

SpaceX and Falcon 9

The Falcon 9 is SpaceX’s two-stage reusable rocket made up of three components: a reusable first part, an expendable second one and a reusable fairing.

The rocket, which is the first of its kind, is part of Elon Musk's space race against tech giants like Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin.

However, the Falcon 9's reusability has driven down the cost of launching rockets into space because the costliest equipment remains intact — during a successful launch — and returns to earth.

Despite the lack of official figures, some experts believe SpaceX's endeavours have contributed to making 2021 a record-breaking year for successful and attempted orbital launches.