Clocking in at a hefty 15,000-plus pounds — roughly as heavy as a school bus — SiriusXM’s latest high-powered digital-audio radio satellite awaits its nighttime launch into orbit on Sunday, June 28, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will propel the SXM-11 satellite skyward from Launch Complex 40. After delivery into geosynchronous transfer orbit, the huge satellite will position itself so its coverage zone will span more than 8 million miles.
“Built by Intuitive Machines, SXM-11 will be the most powerful high-powered satellite ever deployed by SiriusXM, helping improve signal reception, expand coverage in Alaska, and enhance the delivery of audio entertainment and information services across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean,” SiriusXM officials said in a LinkedIn post.
SpaceX is targeting a four-hour launch window extending from 10:25 p.m. Sunday, June 28, to 2:21 a.m. Monday, June 29. The Falcon 9 first-stage booster will notch its 17th mission and target landing on the drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas in the Atlantic Ocean.
The National Weather Service predicts excellent launch conditions overnight Sunday: mostly clear skies, a low near 78 degrees, and south-southeast wind of 5 to 10 mph.
FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch coverage will kick off about 90 minutes before the launch window opens at floridatoday.com/space/. We’ll post SpaceX’s live webcast after it begins about 15 minutes before liftoff.
In June 2025, a SpaceX Falcon 9 launched SiriusXM’s SXM-10 geostationary satellite from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The Falcon 9 rocket propelled off the pad at 12:54 a.m. Saturday, June 7, and delivered the third-generation, Maxar Space Systems-manufactured SXM-10 satellite into orbit.
SiriusXM officials reported the SXM-11’s solar-panel arrays will stretch more than 106 feet long upon deployment — “roughly the height of a 10-story building laid on its side.”
For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space. Another easy way: Click here to sign up for our weekly 321 Launch space newsletter.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY, where he has covered news since 2004. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: SpaceX readies huge SiriusXM satellite for launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida
Reporting by Rick Neale, Florida Today / Florida Today
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rick Neale, Florida Today | USA TODAY Network
