SpaceX F9 : SES-18 / SES-19 : CCSFS SLC-40 : 17 March 2023 (23:38 UTC)

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/1637973516749271046

Booster 1069 has returned to Port Canaveral after a sixth flight delivering SES 18 & 19 to orbit.

More about the mission: nasaspaceflight.com/2023/03/spacex…

Views of port: nsf.live/spacecoast

📷 Me for @NASASpaceflight

Edit to add:

https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/1637974506902896644

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/_mgde_/status/1637931674968137731

Disney Wish departure

JRTI & B1069 arrival

Just another Monday on Florida’s space coast 🌴

To space & back ✌🏻

https://twitter.com/_mgde_/status/1637944997008777216

Falcon & humans for scale

Ft. sooty battle scars

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/tweetsiphotos/status/1637938035886272514

B1069 is back in Port!! 🚀

@SpaceOffshore

[Targeteer]

55970    SES 18   2023-038A      348.37   26.89   19736   308
55971    SES 19   2023-038B           348.05   26.89   19717   308   
55972    OBJECT C   2023-038C      347.87   26.90   19710   303

[FutureSpaceTourist]

More SpaceX launch photos by Ben Cooper

[realnouns]

Crosby Skipper + JRTI + 1069 returned to Port Canaveral yesterday (3/20) @ 6:25pm ET

[Targeteer]

55970    SES 18   2023-038A      348.37   26.89   19736   308
55971    SES 19   2023-038B           348.05   26.89   19717   308   
55972    OBJECT C   2023-038C      347.87   26.90   19710   303

55970    SES 18   2023-038A   718.21   15.13   35723   4653   
55971    SES 19   2023-038B   709.85   15.70   35756   4207

[gongora]

Using an online calculator I found that looks like going from GTO-2195 to GTO-1550 so far

[Targeteer]

55970    SES 18   2023-038A   1432.76   0.09   35731   35712      
55971    SES 19   2023-038B   1433.21   0.09   35735   35725

[Slothman]

Apparentlythis was visible during a car race in Sebring

[gongora]

SES: SES-18 C-Band Satellite Goes Operational

Service transitions onto SES-18 represent one of the final milestones in SES’s U.S. C-band transition

Luxembourg, 27 June 2023 – SES announced today that the SES-18 satellite is now delivering services at 103 degrees West, replacing SES-3’s C-band payload. SES-18 is enabling SES to continue delivering C-band broadcast and radio services to millions of American homes, as well as provide other critical network communications services to the United States.

SES-19, which was launched in tandem with SES-18, has arrived at its orbital slot at 135 degrees West, where it is co-located with SES-22.

With this milestone, SES has completed the successful in-orbit deployment of five of the six new satellites as part of a broader Federal Communications Commission (FCC) program to clear a portion of C-band spectrum to enable wireless operators to deploy 5G services across the contiguous U.S. (CONUS). Satellite operators, including SES, have been tasked by the FCC to clear the lower 300MHz of C-band spectrum throughout CONUS by December 2023. The remaining sixth satellite, SES-23, is on the ground as a spare to provide redundancy in case of need.

SES-18 is critical to that effort, enabling SES to transition existing services to the upper C-band frequencies while maintaining uninterrupted services for customers. By providing contractual service protections to customers who receive video services in the U.S., SES-18  will enable SES to finish clearing C-band spectrum to help accomplish the FCC’s ambitious goals for American 5G innovation.

“We are excited to see our final two new C-band satellites in their orbital positions, and for SES-18 to provide continuity of service for our customers in the United States,” said Steve Collar, CEO at SES. “Thanks to our partners who have been an integral part of our C-band transition program, we look forward to completing the program ahead of the FCC’s accelerated relocation deadline.”

SES-18 and SES-19 were successfully launched by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket in March 2023 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. SES-18 and SES-19 were designed, manufactured and assembled by Northrop Grumman.

More information on the SES-18 and SES-19 satellites can be found on the SES C-band in the U.S. newsroom.

[input~2]

The international designator for SES-18 in Space-Track TLE is wrong:
0 SES 18
1 55970U 23039A   23199.53672028 -.00000101  00000-0  00000+0 0  9992
2 55970   0.0591 253.6591 0000870 317.6770 174.8648  1.00271722  1449

Could someone at Space-Track.org please change 23039A to 23038A?

[input~2]

The international designator for SES-18 in Space-Track TLE is wrong:
0 SES 18
1 55970U 23039A   23199.53672028 -.00000101  00000-0  00000+0 0  9992
2 55970   0.0591 253.6591 0000870 317.6770 174.8648  1.00271722  1449

Could someone at Space-Track.org please change 23039A to 23038A?

This has now been corrected, thanks!
0 SES 18
1 55970U 23038A   23208.23653078 -.00000086  00000-0  00000-0 0  9996
2 55970   0.0584 256.0406 0001120 296.0260  94.6433  1.00271820  1514