In this flight, the Falcon 9 rocket will deliver the first six of a series of next generation OG2 satellites to an elliptical 750 x 615 km low-Earth orbit. The OG2 satellites are commercial telecommunications satellites, built by Sierra Nevada Corporation and weigh approximately 170 kg each.

Falcon 9 v1.1 is a significantly redesigned version of the its predecessor, including a higher payload capacity. This version arranges the engines in a structural form SpaceX calls an Octaweb.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.