A Thai telecom satellite taken into orbit aboard a commercial launch vehicle has gone into service.
Thaicom 6 started broadcasting Saturday after being launched one month ago by SpaceX, a US-based private space firm.
SpaceX hauled the satellite into space on Jan. 6 aboard a two-stage Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral.
The Orbital Sciences Corp.-built SES-8 satellite will provide television, cable TV and other services to countries including Thailand, India and Vietnam.
The Thai satellite was the firm’s second successful launch, an important milestone as it must log three successful launches to be considered a serious candidate by the Pentagon for launching large military satellites.
The California-based SpaceX is owned by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk.
Photos: SpaceX
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