SpaceX could launch the first two demonstration satellites of its proposed network of satellites as early as Saturday, The Los Angeles Times reports. According to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the two satellites, called Microsat-2a and Microsat-2b, are set to launch as the so-called secondary payload on Saturday’s Falcon 9 launch, which will be from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The main mission for the launch is the Paz Earth observation satellite. Built by Airbus and operated by Spanish government satellite services operator Hisdesat, SpaceX plans to test the satellite’s design, structure and subsystems. The group also wants to test both satellites’ communication paths by using five test ground terminal stations and three mobile test vans. Test stations will be located in Hawthorne; Fremont; McGregor and Brownsville, Texas; and in Redmond, Wash., where SpaceX has established an office dedicated to satellite development.
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