SXM-8, which weighed approximately 7,000 kilos when launched, is substantially identical to SXM-7, which launched on another Falcon 9 in December 2020.
Fremont, CA: Six months after launching a comparable satellite that ultimately malfunctioned in orbit, SpaceX successfully launched a Maxar-built satellite for SiriusXM Satellite Radio. At 12:26 a.m. Eastern, the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket's first stage, which had previously launched NASA's Crew-1 and Crew-2 commercial crew missions, landed 8 minutes and 45 seconds after liftoff on a droneship in the Atlantic Ocean.
The SXM-8 satellite was launched into a geostationary transfer orbit 32 minutes after liftoff by the rocket's upper stage. Several hours later, Maxar announced that controllers had made contact with the spacecraft, which had deployed its solar arrays and begun firing thrusters to enter geostationary orbit.
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SXM-8, which weighed approximately 7,000 kilos when launched, is substantially identical to SXM-7, which launched on another Falcon 9 in December 2020. Although the launch went off without a hitch, Maxar and SiriusXM revealed in January that the spacecraft had failures of select SXM-7 payload units. The failures were not detailed enough by the companies.
SiriusXM took a $220 million charge to its net income in its quarterly financial results released on April 28 due to what it now refers to as the failure of the satellite. While the firm faced a $220 million loss, it emphasized that the satellite is insured for $225 million. In the second quarter, SiriusXM planned to file a claim on SXM-7.
In a quarterly report filed with the SEC on May 3, Maxar reported a $28 million charge related to the loss of SXM-7. This charge comprised $25 million in final milestone payments for the satellite it would not receive, as well as $3 million in costs related to the spacecraft's recovery.
SXM-7, along with SXM-8, was supposed to replace the XM-3 and XM-4 satellites that had been in orbit since the mid-2000s, although SiriusXM downplayed the impact of the loss. In SEC filings, SiriusXM stated that it expects that XM-3 and XM-4 can operate for several more years and that it has in orbit XM-5, a backup satellite launched in 2010.
In an April 28 earnings call, SiriusXM's chief financial officer, Sean Sullivan, announced that the firm has issued a request for proposals for a new satellite. He did not mention when the replacement satellite will be acquired or launched.
