SXM-10: SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches SiriusXM Radio Satellite

SpaceX launched the Falcon 9 rocket at 0454 UTC on June 7, from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, carrying the SXM-10 satellite for SiriusXM. Approximately 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage, B1085-8 successfully landed on the drone ship 'A Shortfall of Gravitas.'

The Falcon 9's upper stage carried SXM-10 to geosynchronous transfer orbit high above Earth on Saturday, deploying it there about 33 minutes after launch. The 6,400 kilograms satellite, which was built by Maxar Technologies, will now maneuver to join SiriusXM's radio constellation, adding its own capabilities to the mix.

The SXM-10 satellite, built by Maxar Technologies, is the 11th high-powered, digital, audio radio satellite for SiriusXM. It is based on Maxar’s proven 1300-class platform and includes a large, mesh, unfurlable reflector almost 10 meters in diameter, allowing SiriusXM programming to reach radios, including those in moving vehicles.

This launch is part of SiriusXM's ongoing effort to upgrade its satellite fleet, with SXM-10 joining the constellation to provide continuous, reliable delivery of audio entertainment and information services to over 33 million subscribers in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.

Saturday's launch was SpaceX's second for SiriusXM in just six months; a Falcon 9 lofted the SXM-9 satellite in early December 2024.

Also Saturday's mission for B1085-8 marked its eighth flight, and the overall 112th booster landing on 'A Shortfall of Gravitas' droneship, and the 458th booster landing overall for SpaceX.

Among B1085-8's previous missions were the Crew-9 and Fram2 astronaut flights and the liftoff on Jan. 15 of this year that sent two private moon landers — Firefl Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience — toward Earth's nearest neighbor.

SpaceX has now launched 69 Falcon 9 missions in 2025. Fifty-one of them have been dedicated to building out the company's Starlink broadband megaconstellation in low Earth orbit.