article_snippet: On top of A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying two commercial communications satellites launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 41 this morning were a pair of satellites built by Boeing and owned by Paris-based Eutelsat communications and Bermuda-based Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS).
article_snippet: This also brought the cost of the launch down - Eutelsat and ABS paid around £20 million ($30 million) each to place - Eutelsat and ABS satellites on the rocket, as a single launch costs about £40 million ($60 million).
article_snippet: You can have a much lighter satellite, so that, in theory, the cost of your launch is much reduced.
article_snippet: The lighter of the two satellites, ABS 3A, will reach your launch destination by the end of August, while the Eutelsat 115 West B spacecraft will take a few weeks longer.
article_snippet: Eutelsat's spacecraft will become part of a 35-member network providing a range of mobile, internet, video and other communications services.
article_snippet: The companies are partnering for a second pair of satellites that are due to launch aboard another Falcon 9 rocket later this year.
article_snippet: On top of the rocket (shown) were a pair of satellites built by Boeing and owned by Paris-based Eutelsat communications and Bermuda-based Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS).
article_snippet: The Vine above shows the moment the first of the two satellites - ABS 3A - was released into orbit .
article_snippet: the two satellites are seen here before launch.
article_snippet: ABS 3A is on the top, and the Eutelsat 115 West B is on the bottom of the payload.