Elon Musk’ Aerospace Company ‘SpaceX’ Prepares for its Second Launch this Week from Cape Canaveral
The launch will be on Saturday at 9:40 a.m.
Cape Canaveral, Florida – Following the successful launch of its own payload from Florida earlier this week, SpaceX is currently preparing its second Falcon 9 rocket containing satellites from it’s customers such as DARPA, NASA and some of their own Starlink satellites.
The launch was intended to be on Friday morning but got delayed to Saturday at 9:40 a.m. The SpaceX rideshare mission includes government and private customer payloads along with a dozen smaller nanosatellites. It’s currently awaiting launch at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex 40.
The Transporter-1 Mission
Falcon 9 and 143 spacecraft are vertical on pad 40 ahead of tomorrow’s launch of the Transporter-1 mission, the first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare Program mission; SpaceX's 42-minute launch window opens at 9:40 a.m. and weather is 60% favorable → https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK pic.twitter.com/BFEnf8uru9
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 22, 2021
Following an approval from the Federal Communications Commission earlier this month, the mission, known as Transporter-1 decided to add a sort of last-minute inventory of 10 Starlink satellites.
As per the 45th Space Wing forecast, a concern that the team is currently faced with is a thick cloud cover during the launch window. Space Force forecasters are giving the launch window a 60% chance of favourable weather. Rain showers are also expected on Saturday morning.
Following the launch, the Falcon 9 will be heading south towards polar orbit, an unusual trajectory that’s above Florida’s coast. This means that SpaceX’s droneship, Of Course I Still Love You won’t be appearing at the north to intercept the rocket booster, but way south in the Atlantic Ocean.
SpaceX’s plans
Another Falcon 9 with 60 Starlink internet-beaming satellites had been launched by SpaceX earlier this week. This became the 17th addition to SpaceX’s constellation that provides global internet to even the most remote areas of the world. Nearly 1000 Starlink satellites are already in orbit. SpaceX has plans to increase that number with launching rockets every other week.
SpaceX teams are also hard at work in conducting a test flight of their interplanetary spaceship in Texas. It impressed audiences when the recent prototype that was launched did an aerial flip and landed in style.
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