Falcon 9 sends SES’s O3b mPOWER satellites to orbit, lands on droneship

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched two O3b mPOWER communications satellites for SES from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 5:12 p.m. EDT on July 22. The mission, originally scheduled for July 21 but delayed due to a last-minute launch abort, marks the fifth O3b mPOWER launch by SpaceX.The rocket’s first stage successfully landed about 8.5 minutes after liftoff on the droneship ‘Just Read the Instructions’ in the Atlantic Ocean. This was the sixth flight and landing for the booster, designated B1090.
The Falcon 9 upper stage deployed the O3b mPOWER 9 and 10 satellites to medium Earth orbit (MEO), approximately 8,000 kilometres above Earth, nearly two hours after liftoff. The pair joins the existing eight mPOWER satellites launched between December 2022 and December 2024.

Falcon 9 launches its fifth @SES_Satellites O3b mPOWER mission from Florida pic.twitter.com/C4pV6k9h3T

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 22, 2025

Boeing confirmed that both satellites are now transmitting signals. They will spend the next 130 days using xenon thrusters to reach their final orbital positions, where they will expand SES’s satellite-based internet services. The system, operational since April 2024, serves enterprise, mobility, cloud, and government users with high-throughput, low-latency connectivity.

The satellites use software-defined, digitally formed beams to meet evolving communication needs and are built with technologies adapted from U.S. military satellite programs. Each satellite weighs about 1,700 kilograms and was built by Boeing.

SES plans to expand the O3b mPOWER constellation to 13 satellites by 2027. The final three are under construction and scheduled for launch in 2026. The full constellation is expected to triple current system capacity and provide near-global coverage.

This launch was SpaceX’s 89th Falcon mission of the year, in addition to three Starship test flights completed earlier in 2025.

(With input from agencies)