AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8 will lift off from SpaceX’s launch complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

AsiaSat 6 will be equipped with 28 high-powered C-band transponders. AsiaSat 8 will have 24 Ku-band transponders and a Ka-band beam, with high-powered transponders to enable the use of small antennas on the ground. Both satellites are being built by Space Systems/Loral and will be designated to serve Asia, the Middle East and Australasia.

   “We are producing the most advanced launch vehicles in the world, and the international launch market has responded. Commercial launches now represent over 60 percent of our upcoming missions,” SpaceX CEO and CTO Elon Musk said in a statement.