SpaceX launched two Falcon 9 rockets Wednesday, each carrying Starlink satellites, one from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and another from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. As SPACE reports, “First up was a Falcon 9 rocket carrying 29 of the broadband internet relay units (Group 6-99) into low Earth orbit from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The satellites were successfully deployed about an hour and five minutes after the 8:42 a.m. EST (1342 GMT) liftoff … Then came 27 more Starlink satellites (Group 15-13), riding atop a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Lifting off at 10:27 a.m. EST”
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Tag: Kennedy Space Center
SpaceX Aims to Launch NASA’s IMAP Mission to Map Boundaries of Our Solar System on Sept. 23
SPACE reports a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch on Sept. 23 will send three spacecraft a million miles from Earth to map the heliosphere and expand our understanding of space weather and atmospheric science. “A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex-39A, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Sept. 23 at 7:32 a.m. EDT.”
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Fram2 Astronauts Launch on Polar Orbit Mission
Spaceflight Now reports, “A historic mission took flight from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Monday night. Against the backdrop of an off-shore band of thunderstorms, four first-time astronauts soared off the pad at Launch Complex 39A onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and headed into a polar orbit. Malta resident Chun Wang funded the orbital polar expedition and flew alongside Norwegian cinematographer, Jannicke Mikkelsen; German arctic robotics researcher, Rabea Rogge; and Australian polar guide, Eric Philips.”
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Video
Fram2 Astronauts Launch on Polar Orbit Mission (Launch occurs at 2:00:17)
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches 23 Starlink Satellites from KSC
Spaceflight Now reports, “SpaceX launched its latest batch of Starlink satellites, increasing the company’s mega-constellation in low Earth orbit. The mission came as SpaceX works towards the launch of a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station over the weekend. Liftoff of the Starlink 10-6 mission from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center happened at 1:01 a.m. EDT.”
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Video
SpaceX launches 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral on Falcon 9 rocket
(Spaceflight Now; YouTube)
The 2024 Total Solar Eclipse is Happening Today
SPACE reports, “Today (April 8) a total solar eclipse will sweep across North America from Mexico, through 15 U.S. States and up through Canada. For viewers inside the path of totality, the moon will completely cover the sun, darkening the sky and revealing our star’s hidden outer atmosphere.”
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Video
Watch Total Solar Eclipse 2024 Live
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)
SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches Eutelsat 36D Telecommunications Satellite
Via Satellite reports, “SpaceX launched the Airbus-built Eutelsat 36D telecommunications satellite for Eutelsat Group over the weekend. It was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 30. Eutelsat selected Airbus in March 2021 to build Eutelsat 36D. This is the 22nd Airbus-built communications satellite for Eutelsat.”
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Videos
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches 23 Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral
(VideoFromSpace; YouTube)
Falcon Heavy Launch Scheduled for Late Wednesday
The Orlando (FL) Sentinel reports that SpaceX is “rolling out its powerful Falcon Heavy for a late-night launch Wednesday that will feature double sonic booms of its returning boosters that might shake up Central Florida.” The rocket “is one of the most powerful available for Space Coast launches, essentially three Falcon 9 rockets strapped together that produce 5.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.” The payload for this mission “is a telecom satellite for Hughes Network Systems called the EchoStar Jupiter 3 aiming for liftoff from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A during a 99-minute launch window that opens at 11:04 p.m.” A backup opportunity “falls during the same window Thursday.” Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron “predicts an 85% chance for good weather Wednesday, and 60% if the backup window is needed on Thursday.”
Full Story (Orlando Sentinel)
NASA Showcases Crew Modules for Artemis II, III, and IV
Gizmodo reports that the crew modules for NASA’s Artemis II, III, and IV missions “are currently stationed next to one another at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the three spacecraft undergoing different stages of production for their upcoming launch dates.” NASA recently “shared a group photo of its Orion crew capsules inside the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, revealing the spacecraft trio coming together ahead of humanity’s return to the Moon.” The Artemis II spacecraft is “designed to carry astronauts on a journey to the Moon and back in late 2024.” NASA technicians recently “installed the heat shield on the Artemis II Orion capsule, which is designed to protect the crew and the spacecraft during its reentry through Earth’s atmosphere.”
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Boeing’s Starliner on Track to Launch in April
SPACE reported that The Boeing Company and NASA officials have announced that the Starliner’s first crewed flight will launch in April. The next major milestone “for Starliner’s progress will be loading propellant into the vehicle’s service module.” Successful propellant loading will begin a 60-day launch window in order to prevent valve corrosion on the spacecraft’s propulsion system.
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X-37B Lands at Kennedy Space Center after Spending 908 Days in Orbit
Aviation Week reported behind a paywall that the US Space Force “landed the X-37B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 12, completing a 908-day mission that set a new record for endurance while performing several classified and unclassified missions.” Space News reported that this was the “sixth mission of the crewless reusable plane, built by Boeing and jointly operated by the U.S. Space Force and the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.” On this mission, the “X-37B carried several U.S. military and NASA science experiments, including a Naval Research Laboratory project to capture sunlight and convert it into direct current electrical energy, and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s FalconSat-8, which remains in orbit. One of NASA’s experiments was the Materials Exposure and Technology Innovation in Space. Scientists will use the data to understand the effects of the space environment on different types of materials. Another experiment was to investigate the effects of long-duration space exposure on seeds.”
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