CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — SpaceX may once again make space history with the first launch of a refurbished Falcon 9 rocket that is set for Thursday, March 30, 2017 from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two-and-a-half hour launch window opens at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

The refurbished first stage rocket that will make this historic launch was initially launched with a Dragon capsule from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on April 8, 2016 for a resupply mission to the International Space Station. After launch, the first stage landed on SpaceX’s autonomous drone ship Of Course I Still Love You where it was ferried back to Port Canaveral, Florida.

The first stage was then shipped to MacGregor, Texas to undergo refurbishment and testing before returning to Florida for its historic flight.

Fittingly, SpaceX will make the historic launch with an SES-10 communications satellite – the same company which risked its payload aboard SpaceX’s first commercial launch in December 2013.

“Having been the first commercial satellite operator to launch with SpaceX back in 2013, we are excited to once again be the first customer to launch on SpaceX’s first ever mission using a flight-proven rocket. We believe reusable rockets will open up a new era of spaceflight, and make access to space more efficient in terms of cost and manifest management,” Martin Halliwell, Chief Technology Officer at SES said.

The SES-10 satellite will provide  television broadcast and telecommunication services to Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

If all goes as planned, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the communications satellite to a Geostationary Transfer Orbit.

Following stage separation, the first stage of the Falcon 9 will attempt a historic landing of a reused rocket on Of Course I Still Love You.  However, a successful landing could be more challenging with this mission. That’s because the Geo Stationary Transfer Orbit requires the first stage rocket to reach a significantly higher altitude than other low earth orbit missions. This means that Falcon 9’s first stage rocket will becoming down faster with less fuel to slow its descent.