N環球 
SpaceX Scrubs Bandwagon-5 Rideshare Launch, Retargets Tuesday Morning
SpaceX scrubbed Monday's predawn Falcon 9 Bandwagon-5 launch over poor weather in the booster recovery zone, retargeting a 6:30 a.m. EDT window Tuesday from Cape Canaveral with 32 payloads including the Starfall reentry capsule.
Why it matters
SpaceX scrubbed its planned predawn launch of the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission on Monday, October 19, because of poor weather in the booster recovery zone, and is now targeting a one-hour window opening at 6:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, October 20. The flight will carry the company's uncrewed Starfall reentry capsule on its second trip to space.
Full report
According to Spaceflight Now (updated 4:07 a.m. EDT on October 19), the launch will take place at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with the rocket flying a southeasterly trajectory. The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 90 percent chance of acceptable weather for the Tuesday window, as a cold front drifting south should improve conditions at the recovery site.
The mission carries 32 payloads. Alongside SpaceX's own Starfall microgravity research capsule, the manifest includes Varda Space Industries' W-7 reentry capsule (testing whether microgravity improves the solubility of the cancer drug Protac), Portal Space Systems' Starburst-1 orbital-maneuver demonstration, and 20 payloads managed by Exolaunch, including four radio-frequency monitoring satellites from HawkEye 360, four communications satellites from Iceye and six navigation satellites from Xona Space Systems. Per an FAA environmental assessment, Starfall stands about 0.75 meters tall, 3.1 meters in diameter, weighs roughly 2,100 kilograms and can carry up to 1,000 kilograms of payload.
The Falcon 9 first stage, booster B1085, will fly its 19th mission, having previously launched NASA's Crew-9, Fram2, Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar mission and others. It will target a landing on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas; success would mark the vessel's 167th landing and the 672nd Falcon booster recovery to date.
Source: Spaceflight Now, NASASpaceflight
💬 Comments
No comments yet. Be the first!