SpaceX gets taker for 1st flight of recycled rocket

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—SpaceX has a taker for the first flight of one of its recycled rockets.

The Luxembourg-based company SES—a longtime SpaceX launch customer—said Tuesday it will send its next communications satellite up on a previously flown Falcon rocket. It will be the first true reuse of a rocket previously used for an orbital mission. The launch will take place sometime this fall from Cape Canaveral.

“Thanks for the longstanding faith in SpaceX,” SpaceX chief Elon Musk said via Twitter. “We very much look forward to doing this milestone flight with you.”

The chief technology officer at SES, Martin Halliwell, said SpaceX’s testing for the upcoming mission gives his company “full confidence.” SES was the first commercial satellite operator to launch with SpaceX, back in 2013, he noted, and the satellite operator is excited to team up with SpaceX for another first.