SpaceX Launches Nusantara Lima Satellite from Cape Canaveral

Lead: SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Nusantara Lima communications satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station today at 9:56 p.m. EDT, successfully deploying the payload and landing its first stage on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

Nut Graf: After three days of weather and technical scrubs, this mission underscores SpaceX’s accelerating pace in commercial satellite deployments and its continued focus on first-stage reuse.

Mission Overview

Rocket & Payload: A Falcon 9 Block 5 booster (B1078) lofted the Boeing-built Nusantara Lima satellite for Indonesian telecom operator PSN into geosynchronous transfer orbit.
Launch Window: Liftoff occurred at the very end of the window, maximizing launch opportunities after delays earlier this week.

Booster Recovery

Booster Flight Count: B1078 marked its 23rd flight, now seven short of SpaceX’s all-time reuse record.
Landing: Approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the booster touched down on the Atlantic-stationed drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas.

Satellite Deployment

Orbit Insertion: The upper stage deployed Nusantara Lima 27.5 minutes after launch into its planned geosynchronous transfer orbit, positioning it for final circularization and arrival at GEO.
Mission Significance: This flight was the 114th Falcon 9 mission of 2025, with over 70 percent dedicated to expanding the Starlink constellation.

Looking Ahead

SpaceX’s next scheduled launch is the Northrop Grumman CRS-23 resupply mission to the International Space Station on Sunday, Sept. 14, highlighting a busy fall manifest for both commercial and NASA payloads.