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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Sunday carrying a multi-ton, radio-broadcasting satellite for SiriusXM’s to replace two aging satellites in geostationary Earth orbit.
Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station happened at 10:25 p.m. EDT (0225 UTC), the opening of a four-hour window. The rocket flew on an easterly trajectory upon leaving the launch pad.
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The 45th Weather Squadron forecast an 80 percent chance for favorable weather at the opening of the launch window that improves to 90 percent as time goes on. Meteorologists are watching for interference from cumulus and anvil clouds.
“Flow aloft will be weak and variable, supporting daily storm motions that will be seabreeze and outflow dependent. This erratic nature of storm motion is more evident in today’s model runs, suggesting a higher risk of storms lingering closer to the coast later into the night,” launch weather officers wrote. “However, remnant storms and clouds should slowly diminish as the night wears on during both the primary and backup launch opportunities.”
SpaceX launched the mission using its Falcon 9 booster with the tail number B1085. This was its 17th flight having previously launched NASA’s Crew-9, RRT-1 for the U.S. Space Force, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission 1, Fram2, SiriusXM’s SXM-10, the MTG-S1 weather satellite for Europe, EchoStar XXV, and nine Starlink missions
A little more than 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1085 landed on the drone ship, ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas’, stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. This was its 158th successful landing, tying it with the now retired vessel, ‘Just Read the Instructions’, which is being used for Starship operations.
Constellation refresh
The SXM-11 satellite, weighing about 15,000 pounds (7.5 tons), was deployed from the Falcon 9 rocket’s upper stage 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 branded as Maxar Space Systems, was acquired by Intuitive Machines in January 2026 for about $800 million.
The SXM-11 and SXM-12 satellites were built to replace SiriusXM’s XM-5 and the Sirius FM-5 satellites, which launched in 2010 and 2009 respectively.
“After years of planning, engineering, testing, and collaboration, SXM-11 is set to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and begin its journey to 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 spans 106 feet (32.3 m).
SiriusXM said about 60 percent of the 7.5 ton satellite’s mass comes from the fuel onboard. The last of these satellites, SXM-10, which launched in June 2025, is estimated to remain in service until 2040, according to a financial disclosure from SiriusXM to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
