A Falcon 9 rocket is now heading to space, carrying the first satellite for Turkmenistan.

Skies over Cape Canaveral Air Force Station have been overcast all day Monday, and there was only a 60 percent chance of favortable conditions during the 90-minute launch window. It was almost an hour before the weather cleared enough for the rocket to launch.

On board the Falcon 9 rocket is a nearly 10,000-pound communications satellite built by Thales Alenia Space for the country of Turkmenistan, in central Asia. It's that country's first national satellite telecommunications system.

The satellite will provide phone, Internet and data services for people in Turkmenistan, expanding coverage in that part of Asia and linking it to Europe and all of Africa.

If all goes as planned, the satellite will be deployed about a half hour after launch in an orbit over 20,000 miles above the Earth.

SpaceX will not attempt to land its first-stage booster on a floating drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean this time. Because of the satellite's massive size and intended orbit, the Falcon 9 requires much more fuel for this mission.

The last two attempts to land a booster on the floating barge were unsuccessful, though SpaceX came close in its last attempt on April 14. According to SpaceX founder Elon Musk, the rocket appeared to land OK, but then tipped over and exploded.

SpaceX will make its next attempt at a successful rocket landing in June on its next cargo run for NASA to the International Space Station.

———————————————

SpaceX's latest client: Turkmenistan

One big difference about this SpaceX rocket launch is its customer — Turkmenistan — a place that's rich in natural gas.

Once part of the Soviet Union, tiny Turkmenistan only became an independent nation in 1991. Located in central Asia, the country is slightly larger than California in size, and slightly smaller than Spain.

SpaceX, in cooperation with a European partner, is putting Turkmenistan's first communications satellite into orbit.

At the same time, the website Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty claims that the Turkmen government is actively destroying individual home satellite dishes in an effort to ensure only government-controlled information is available.