Sakina Juzar 

The SpaceX Starship is chosen to be the launch vehicle for a Japanese satellite under Sky Perfect JSAT Corporation. This project will be one of the first publicly disclosed commercial payloads for Elon Musk’s newest rocket. 

In a statement Thursday, the Japanese company said that the ‘Superbird-9’ is scheduled for launch in geosynchronous transfer orbit in 2024. It will aim to “deliver broadcast and broadband missions in Ku band  primarily over Japan and Eastern Asia, in respond to mobility and broadband demands.”

The starship rocket is designed by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. to be a reusable, multipurpose vehicle acting as a carrier for passengers, cargo and fuel. 

The craft consists of a booster stage called the ‘Super Heavy’ and 156-foot tall (50 metres) second-stage spacecraft. However, it has yet to fly an orbital test flight, which was originally supposed to be conducted from Texas in June or July, according to SpaceX. A booster rocket prepared for the program caught fire during a test last month, which appeared to cause “minor” damage, according to Musk.