SpaceX launches satellite toward distant orbit

SpaceX has blasted off its Falcon 9 rocket carrying a communications satellite to a distant orbit, before attempting to land the first stage of the rocket on an ocean platform.

The rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida yesterday at 6:36 pm (2336 GMT), propelling the satellite, known as SES-9, built by Boeing for the Luxembourg-based company SES.

The satellite must reach a geostationary orbit more than 38,000 kilometers above the Earth, where it will deliver broadband and television channels to southeast Asia.

"We will be dropping SES-9 off 100 times as high as the International Space Station," said Lauren Lyons, mission integrator for SpaceX.

After the launch, SpaceX will try to land the first stage of its rocket on a platform floating in the Atlantic.

The droneship, as it is called, is marked with a large "X" and the words, "Of Course I Still Love You."

Even though SpaceX has cautioned it does not expect a successful landing this time, the company is trying to perfect its technique of recycling rocket parts in order to make spaceflight cheaper and more sustainable.

The California-based company headed by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk has managed to land upright on solid ground once -- in December 2015 -- but several attempts at ocean touchdowns have failed.

"This landing attempt is going to be a really tough one," said Lyons, noting that the rocket needs a lot of propellant to lift the satellite to space and may run short of fuel needed to control the landing on the way back.