SpaceX has conducted the first polar launch from Florida since 1969. On board the Falcon 9 rocket was the Argentinean SAOCOM-1B satellite and two American secondary payloads. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) occurred at 7:18 PM EDT (23:18 UTC) on Sunday.
The 45th Weather Squadron predicted a 40% chance of appropriate weather situations for Sunday’s launch window. However, SpaceX controlled to locate a hole in the weather to arrive on time.
Unlike Cape Canaveral’s maximum launches, which rely on Earth’s rotation to succeed in low-tilt orbits, the SAOCOM-1B project flew south along Florida’s east coast along a flight path known as the Polar Corridor.since February 26, 1969, when a Delta E1 rocket introduced the ESSA-9 weather satellite.
SAOCOM-1B deployed in a synchronous solar polar orbit, tilted to nine degrees at an altitude of 620 kilometers.The satellite will complement the SAOCOM-1A satellite, which was also introduced aboard a SpaceX Falcon nine from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on October 7, 2018.
Vandenberg has been the normal launch of missions into polar orbits, orbiting Earth above the poles, aligned from north to south.Vandenberg is preferable to such launches because the Pacific Ocean offers unen populated dominance directly south of launch.SpaceX continues to operate at the Space Launch Complex four East (SLC-fourE) in Vandenberg and is still planning to launch missions from California, adding NASA’s Sentinel-6A mission by November 2020.
However, to allow for more common launches in polar orbits, SpaceX worked with U.S. Space Force Space Wing 45.U.S., which controls the eastern range, adding Cape Canaveral, to resume polar launches from Florida as well.Ecuador than Vandenberg, which is for the functionality of rockets in low-tilt orbits, but worsens functionality in high-tilt orbits, such as synchronous solar orbit.
Unlike Vandenberg’s launches, launching in a Polar Tilt of Florida would result in overflights of populated Florida spaces. As a result, Falcon Nine first flew southeast along the Florida coast. After the grounds separated, the moment the earth made a “dog’s foot” turn for the south to unload the proper inclination.
While this avoids flying over Florida, it allowed the stretch of moment and its payloads to fly over Cuba. However, at this level of flight, the vehicle was much higher and the threat of debris falling as a result of a possible anomaly was much lower than in the previous stages of the flight.
The threat of an untimely flight failure is primary attention in drawing up plans for the launch of SAOCOM-1B. Due to the exclusive flight path, the Falcon Nine nearly flew over Cape Canaveral launch pads south of the SLC-40, which includes the SLC-37B, which recently has a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket and its valuable NROL-44-rated payload.
While ULA and SpaceX have agreed to allow polar room launches to fly over buffers (the SLC-41 Polar ULA Atlas V launches fly spaceX in SLC-40), the National Reconnaissance Office had asked in particular to introduce SAOCOM-1B while the NROL-44 payload is on SLC-37B.
Therefore, when Saturday morning’s launch attempt for the NROL-44 was interrupted a few seconds before takeoff, it was thought that the SAOCOM-1B would be delayed to wait its turn. However, the NRO reassessed the threat of a nearby flyover and granted SpaceX permission to release SAOCOM-1B while the NROL-44 is still on the ground. This could have been influenced by the minimum delay of seven days before the NROL-44 take-off.
– CONAE (@CONAE_Oficial) 21 February 2020
The SAOCOM-1B spacecraft was originally sent to the launch site on February 22, 2020. Initially scheduled or introduced in the spring, the project was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which prevented CONAE team members from traveling to Florida for release.
The 1,600 kilogram satellite is operated through CONAE, Argentina’s government agency. The SAOCOM-1 pair of satellites carries L-band artificial-opening radar (SAR) tools to measure soil moisture and other parameters in emergency situations and crisis relief. The constellation SAOCOM will paint in cooperation with the 4 Italian SATELLITES COSMO-SkyMed.
Also aboard the launch were two secondary payloads. One of them is the GNSS Concealment and Navigation Measurement Satellites (GNOMES-1), a 30 kilogram microsatellite built through Blue Canyon Technologies for the US EarthIQ Earth Sciences company. GNOMES-1 receives signals from 4 global satellite navigation systems (GNSS): the US GPS constellation, The Russian GLONASS, the European Galileo and Chinese BeiDou satellites. By measuring these signals as they pass through Earth’s atmosphere, PlanetIQ targets weather forecast models.
The moment the payload is shared aboard Tyvak-0172, a satellite from Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems.The details of the length and project of this satellite are unknown.
The launch of SAOCOM-1B is also the hundredth introduced for the Falcon family, adding the Falcon 1 and Falcon Heavy rockets. Also noteworthy is the touchdown of the first leg, which took place in Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) in Cape Canaveral, and not a drone in the ocean, is also noteworthy. This is the first return landing to the launch site (RTLS) since the CRS-20 project on March 7, 2020.
Fourth touchdown for this booster! pic.twitter.com/444Ppbool3
– Chris B – NSF (@NASASpaceflight) August 30, 2020
The thruster that made this landing was the same first-tier launch of SAOCOM-1B. B1059.4 has introduced the CRS-19, CRS-20 and Starlink v1.0 L10 missions in the past.
In addition to the recovery of the first stage, SpaceX GO Ms. Chief’s refurbishment ship is parked downstream, west of the Bahamas, in an attempt to catch part of the payload fairing. The other side will recover after a comfortable landing. Both halves will be captured because the other recovery ship, GO Ms. Tree, is stationed northeast of Cape Canaveral for the Starlink v1.0 L11 mission. This recovery attempt will take place approximately forty-five minutes after launch, weather permitting.
Once the moment level reached orbit and closed its Merlin Vacuum engine, there was a four-minute choline phase before the main payload, SAOCOM-1B, was deployed. There is a 47-minute coastal phase before the deployment of GNOMES-1 and Tyvak-0172.
(Main Photo SpaceX)
© 2005-2020 – NASASpaceflight.com