A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Sunday carrying a multi-ton, radio-broadcast satellite for SiriusXM to replace two aging satellites in geostationary Earth orbit.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 10:25 p.m. EDT (0225 UTC), the opening of a four-hour window. Upon leaving the launch pad the rocket flew on an eastern trajectory.
The 45th Weather Squadron estimated an 80 percent chance of favorable weather when the launch window opened, improving to 90 percent as time went on. Meteorologists are watching for interference from cumulus and anvil clouds.
Launch weather officials wrote, “The flow aloft will be weak and variable, supporting diurnal storm motion that will depend on sea breezes and outflow. This erratic nature of the storm’s motion is more evident in today’s model run, suggesting a higher risk of the storm remaining close to the coast later into the night.” “However, the remaining storms and clouds should gradually subside as the night progresses during the primary and backup launch opportunities.”
SpaceX launched the mission using its Falcon 9 booster with tail number B1085. This was its 17th flight, having previously launched NASA’s Crew-9, RRT-1 for the US Space Force, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, FRAM2, SiriusXM’s SXM-10, MTG-S1 weather satellite for Europe, EchoStar XXV and nine Starlink missions.
A little more than 8.5 minutes after takeoff, B1085 landed on ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, a drone ship deployed in the Atlantic Ocean. This was its 158th successful landing, tying it with the now-retired ship ‘Just Read the Instructions’, which is being used for starship operations.
constellation fresh
The SXM-11 satellite, weighing approximately 15,000 pounds (7.5 tons), was deployed from the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket a little more than half an hour after launch.
It was manufactured by Lanteris Space Systems, a subsidiary of Texas-based Intuitive Machines. The company, formerly known as Maxar Space Systems, was acquired by Intuitive Machines in January 2026 for approximately $800 million.
The SXM-11 and SXM-12 satellites were built to replace SiriusXM’s XM-5 and Sirius FM-5 satellites, which were launched in 2010 and 2009, respectively.
“After years of planning, engineering, testing and collaboration, SXM-11 is ready to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and begin its journey into orbit,” SiriusXM wrote on its LinkedIn page. “As the most powerful high-powered satellite in SiriusXM’s fleet, SXM-11 will help enhance signal reception, expand coverage in Alaska, and support the delivery of audio entertainment and information services across the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.”
The 230-foot-tall (70.1 m) satellite is based on the IM-1300 satellite bus. With its solar panels extended, the spacecraft stretches 106 feet (32.3 m).
SiriusXM said about 60 percent of the 7.5-ton satellite’s mass comes from onboard fuel. The last of these satellites, SXM-10, which was launched in June 2025, is projected to remain in service until 2040, according to SiriusXM’s financial disclosures to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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