SpaceX is within the remaining levels of getting ready a trio of Falcon 9 rockets for a set of launches scheduled lower than two days aside.
The potential hat trick will probably be the final alternative for a salvo of Falcon launches earlier than the top of 2022. As a disclaimer, whereas unofficial launch dates (derived from regulatory paperwork or well-sourced public manifests) have been constantly near precise launch dates for many of 2022, that ceased to be the case when SpaceX started experiencing an abrupt uptick in launch delays over the past two months. Consequently, Falcon launch dates – even as soon as confirmed by SpaceX – needs to be assumed to be a bit extra unsure than typical till it’s clear that that pattern has died down.
Nonetheless, all accessible indicators point out that SpaceX and its prospects are shifting ahead with plans for 3 back-to-back launches earlier than the top of the week.
Set to kick off the varied trio is the Floor Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft, a roughly $1.2 billion joint mission between NASA and French area company CNES. Thanks partially to the COVID pandemic, which has and continues to impression giant swaths of NASA and the aerospace business, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory accomplished its portion of SWOT round 9% over funds and eight months delayed [PDF] since mission formulation started in 2012. Over the same time scale, a number of different NASA missions have skilled value will increase of 10-100%, usually reflecting nicely on SWOT’s administration.
SWOT, a roughly two-ton (~4400 lb) satellite tv for pc, is designed to conduct the primary world survey of all floor water on Earth utilizing two giant artificial aperture radar (SAR) antennas and a standard radar altimeter. At a price of roughly $112 million, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch SWOT to low Earth orbit (LEO) no sooner than (NET) 3:46 am PST (11:46 UTC) on Thursday, December fifteenth. SpaceX efficiently examined SWOT’s Falcon 9 nicely upfront on December tenth. The rocket was then returned to the corporate’s hangar at Vandenberg Area Pressure Base (VSFB) Area Launch Complicated 4E for payload set up earlier than rolling again to the pad on December thirteenth.
The sunshine satellite tv for pc and low goal orbit will enable Falcon 9’s booster to return to the launch website and land at SpaceX’s LZ-4 touchdown zone, precluding the necessity for a drone ship restoration.
Up subsequent, one other Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch the primary two of 11 Boeing-built O3b mPOWER communication satellites for operator SES as early as 4:21 pm EST (21:21 UTC), Friday, December sixteenth. After lifting off from SpaceX’s Cape Canaveral Area Pressure Station (CCSFS) LC-40 pad, Falcon 9 is ready to launch the roughly 3.4-ton (~7500 lb) pair of satellites to a medium Earth orbit (MEO) with an altitude of 7825 kilometers (4862 mi).
It’s unclear what orbit Falcon 9 will launch the satellites to, however the rocket’s booster will land on drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG) some 700 kilometers (~435 mi) downrange, indicating that it’s going to want as a lot efficiency because the rocket can provide. ASOG departed Port Canaveral on December eleventh, confirming that launch preparations are nicely underway.
Lastly, a 3rd Falcon 9 rocket might launch SpaceX’s first Starlink mission since October twenty eighth as early as 4:54 or 5:13 pm EST (21:54 or 22:13) on December sixteenth, doubtlessly simply 33 or 52 minutes after O3b mPOWER 1&2. If the 2 missions do launch on December sixteenth, which a dependable supply of unofficial info has indicated shouldn’t be assured, it is going to smash the US file for back-to-back launches of the identical rocket household. Russia’s R-7 rocket household will retain the worldwide crown, nonetheless, having launched twice in 25 minutes in 1969.
Starlink 4-37 will elevate off from SpaceX’s NASA Kennedy Area Middle LC-39A pad, and its Falcon 9 booster will try to launch on drone ship Simply Learn The Directions (JRTI). JRTI departed Port Canaveral on December twelfth.
Following Starlink 4-37, SpaceX has not less than two extra launches tentatively scheduled earlier than the top of 2022. NextSpaceflight.com stories that SpaceX might launch its sixth Transporter rideshare mission from Florida on December twenty seventh, and two Israeli EROS-C3 Earth commentary satellites out of California on December twenty ninth. Nevertheless, it’s price noting that within the nearly 17-year historical past of SpaceX Falcon operations, the corporate has by no means launched a rocket after December twenty third or earlier than January sixth. Transporter-6 and EROS-C3 – SpaceX’s sixtieth and 61st launches of the 12 months – must break by means of that obvious firewall to launch when they’re at the moment scheduled.
