SpaceX's Mars vehicle Starship to launch Japanese communications satellite in 2024

Japanese company Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation, announced on Friday, that it has chosen SpaceX's giant rocket Starship to launch a communications satellite in 2024. Named Superbird-9, the satellite will be inserted into a geosynchronous transfer orbit and "will deliver broadcast and broadband missions in Ku band primarily over Japan and Eastern Asia, in response to mobility and broadband demands", the company said in an official release. 

Scheduled to start operation in 2025, the satellite will last for at least 15 years in the low-Earth orbit (LEO), according to Sky Perfect. As for Starship, which is being touted as a future Mars vehicle, it is yet to launch on a test flight before it is ready for satellite and crewed launches. The 165-foot-tall rocket is currently being developed at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas where it recently underwent a few tests ahead of its first orbital launch. 

Starship's journey ahead

SpaceX recently revealed that it conducted static fire tests of the Super Heavy booster and the Ship spacecraft at the Starbase as part of preparations for the orbital mission. Starship consists of two components, the first stage Super Heavy booster and the second stage Ship which when combined make up the complete rocket. While the second stage consists of six Raptor engines, the first stage booster will be powered by 33 engines, each producing a force of 230 tons during liftoff. 

On multiple occasions, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has reiterated that Starship will become the most powerful launch vehicle to ever launch. "SpaceX’s Starship is a fully reusable transportation system that will be the world’s most powerful launch vehicle", Sky Perfect concurred in its release. 

Notably, this is not the first time Starship has been booked for missions before its test flight. Before Sky Perfect, NASA was the first major agency to offer a $2.89 billion contract to SpaceX to build Starships for missions to the Moon. SpaceX has been assigned with designing a human landing system (HLS) that would land astronauts on the lunar surface under the Artemis Program. 

In addition to this, Starship has also been reserved for a space tourism mission which is targeted for launch in 2023. Named 'Dear Moon', this project was announced by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa who is looking for eight more passengers for a trip around the Moon. Besides, the Starship will launch on another manned mission under the Polaris Program, which was announced by Jared Isaacman earlier this year.