SpaceX Falcon 9 launches heavyweight satellite into Orbit

SpaceX launched its 13th mission of the year Monday (Dec. 16) as a twice-flown Falcon 9 booster took to the skies for the third time carrying a satellite for a Singapore-based startup and Japanese broadband provider. 

The Falcon 9 rocket lit up the skies over Florida's Space Coast as it carried its payload, a heavyweight communications satellite, into space from Space Launch Complex 40 here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Liftoff occurred at 7:10 p.m. EST (0010 GMT)

Built by Boeing, the satellite will provide Ka-band internet coverage to 25 countries across the South Pacific, Space.com reported.

Dubbed JCSAT 18/Kacific-1, the 15,335-lb. (6,956 kilograms) satellite is equipped with 56 high-power beams that will provide mobile and broadband services from space. The satellite is a joint project between Singapore startup Kacific Broadband Satellites and Japanese operator Sky Perfect JSAT.

Services provided by the satellite will be especially beneficial to residents in remote provinces and villages across the South Pacific, especially healthcare institutions and schools. In a briefing before the launch today, Christian Patouraux, Kacific's CEO and founder, explained that many of the schools and hospitals throughout the region are remote and therefore could rely on the coverage this satellite will provide to ensure patients receive proper care and children have access to better education with more access to online resources. 

Currently the region relies on Ku-band coverage that is cobbled together from free time on nearby satellites. But continuous coverage would dramatically improve the quality of life of those who call the region home — and it would be an added perk for tourists.