SPACE reports SpaceX completed an engine test of the next Super Heavy booster slated to launch Starship’s next mission, which could lift off as soon as next week.
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Tag: Ahead of
Rocket Lab Completes Final Tests On Reusable ‘Hungry Hippo’ Fairing Ahead of 1st Neutron Rocket Launch
SPACE reports, “Rocket Lab is getting ready to take a bigger bite out of the space launch market. The company recently completed final qualification tests on the fairing that will crown its newest launch vehicle, the partially reusable Neutron, which is expected to fly for the first time early next year.”
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Europe’s Hera Asteroid Mission Lifts Off Ahead of Hurricane Milton
Ars Technica reports, “Two years ago, a NASA spacecraft smashed into a small asteroid millions of miles from Earth to test a technique that could one day prove useful to deflect an object off a collision course with Earth. The European Space Agency launched a follow-up mission Monday to go back to the crash site and see the damage done. The nearly $400 million (363 million euro) Hera mission, named for the Greek goddess of marriage, will investigate the aftermath of a cosmic collision between NASA’s DART spacecraft and the skyscraper-size asteroid Dimorphos on September 26, 2022.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)
Video
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches ESA’s Hera asteroid mission from Cape Canaveral (Launch at 27:08 mark)
(The LaunchPad; YouTube)
SpaceX Scrubs Starlink Launch Attempt a Third Time
Spaceflight Now reports that for “the third day running, bad weather forced SpaceX to scrub a Falcon 9 launch attempt at Cape Canaveral Thursday night. The Falcon 9 is now scheduled to lift off Friday, weather permitting, to carry the next 54 Starlink internet satellites into orbit.” The launch is planned to take place Friday at 9:05 p.m. EDT, “when forecasters predict a 50-50 chance of acceptable weather conditions. The persistent threat of evening thunderstorms remains in the outlook Friday night, but with a slightly lower chance of violating weather constraints.” Friday’s launch, “designated Starlink 4-34, will carry 54 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)
SpaceX Plans to Launch Falcon 9 Ahead of Artemis 1 Mission
Florida Today reports that SpaceX teams “at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station are still targeting this week for the launch of more Starlink internet satellites, one of the last flights before a massive NASA rocket takes off to the moon.” A Falcon 9 rocket “is slated for liftoff at 3:24 p.m EDT Friday, the opening of an instantaneous window at Launch Complex 40.” Space Launch Delta 45 forecasters said Thursday, “It is expected that there will be some showers and storms in the area during the window, likely just inland of the launch site. The main threats will be cumulus clouds and lightning associated with showers and storms in the vicinity, some which may drift back towards the launch site.”
Full Story (Florida Today)