A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the SXM-7 satellite for SiriusXM from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 12:30 p.m. on 13 December 2020. The Falcon 9 first stage rocket booster supporting this launch previously supported Crew Dragon’s first flight to the International Space Station (Demo-1), launch of the RADARSAT Constellation mission from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and four Starlink launches in 2020. Following stage separation, Falcon 9’s first stage landed about eight minutes after launch on the Just Read the Instructions droneship located in the Atlantic Ocean. One half of Falcon 9’s fairing previously supported the ANASIS-II mission in July 2020.

The powerful, Maxar-built SXM-7 satellite arrived at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on October 13, 2020. Once on orbit, SIRIUSXM, the leading audio entertainment company in the United States, will use SXM-7 to ensure continuous and reliable delivery of SiriusXM’s entertainment and data services to tens of millions of subscribers across North America. SXM-7 will deliver the highest power density of any commercial satellite on-orbit, sending more than 8,000 watts of content to the continental U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, increasing the quality of signal for SiriusXM subscribers.

SXM-7 weighs almost 7,000 kg and will be carried to geostationary orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket later this year. The satellite is built on Maxar’s 1300-CLASS PLATFORM, the world’s most popular spacecraft platform, and it is designed to provide service for 15 years or longer. Once on orbit, the satellite will deploy a large unfurlable antenna reflector, which will enable broadcasts to mobile radios, such as those in moving vehicles.