Launch Roundup; Rocket Lab to launch We Will Never Desert You; SpaceX to launch two Starlink missions

Date:
Mon, 18 Sep 2023 18:02:39 +0000

Description:
The week of Sept. 18 through Sept. 24 is set to see three orbital launches, The post Launch Roundup; Rocket Lab to launch We Will Never Desert You;
SpaceX to launch two Starlink missions appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

The week of Sept. 18 through Sept. 24 is set to see three orbital launches, all of which are set to take place from US-based aerospace companies.
Firstly, Rocket Lab will launch its ninth Electron of 2023 on a mission
dubbed We Will Never Desert You. Soon after, SpaceX will launch its Starlink Group 6-17 mission from Space Launch Complex (SLC-40). Later in the week, SLC-40 will see the launch of yet another Starlink mission, dubbed Starlink Group 6-18.

These missions will mark the 152nd through 154th launches of 2023; at this pace, the world is on track for over 210 launches by the end of the year, which will mark a new record. SpaceX has made up over 40% of these launches, with these two Falcon launches being its 66th and 67th Falcon flights of
2023.



Electron/Curie | We Will Never Desert You

Rocket Lab is scheduled to launch the We Will Never Desert You mission on Sept. 19, 2023, at 06:30 UTC from Launch Complex 1 on the Mahia Peninsula, in New Zealand. The mission is for Capella Space an American space tech company that operates commercial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery satellites in low-Earth orbit. This will mark Rocket Labs third launch for Capella in 2023 and the second launch in a multi-launch contract of four missions, which will deploy Capellas new Acadia satellites into low-Earth orbit (LEO). We've got two Electrons ready to go at LC-1 for back-to-back missions with
@capellaspace and @QPS_Inc ! With wet dress rehearsal complete and clear weather ahead, the countdown is on to tomorrow's mission for Capella.

"We Will Never Desert You" launch details: NET 18:30 NZT pic.twitter.com/N8fWMocH62

Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) September 17, 2023



The Acadia satellite on this mission masses approximately 160 kilograms and will join the existing fleet of eleven Capella satellites in a circular orbit of roughly 635 kilometers, inclined 53 degrees. These satellites aim to deliver the highest quality, high-resolution SAR imagery commercially available, with the ability to see-through all-weather conditions and capture clear imagery of the Earth 24 hours, seven days a week. The next-generation Acadia satellites include several new features that will enable faster downlink speeds and higher-quality images. This data will be accessible through Capellas fully automated ordering and delivery platform.

The Electron rocket that will place the payload into orbit is a two-stage vehicle, standing 17 meters tall with a diameter of 1.2 meters. At liftoff, the vehicle masses roughly 12,000 kilograms, and is capable of placing 300 kilograms in LEO. The first stage of the vehicle stands at 12.1 meters tall and has nine Rutherford engines. These engines run on rocket propellant 1 (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX), which is sent into the main combustion
chamber by an electric turbopump.

The use of electric motors to spin the turbine allows Rocket Lab to greatly simplify the engine design, as the start-up of the engines requires only spinning an electric motor. This is in stark contrast to the ignition process of a traditional open-cycle engine, which requires a delicate dance between spinning mass through the turbine into the preburner and having the preburner spin the turbine. Fresh views (and sounds) back from our latest recovery mission pic.twitter.com/cEWwBp4PHj

Peter Beck (@Peter_J_Beck) September 6, 2023



This unique design allows for rapid production and assembly, enabling
Electron to be the second most frequently launched rocket in the United States. We Will Never Desert You will be Electrons ninth mission of 2023, meaning Rocket Lab has reached its long-time goal of an Electron launch every month.

Rocket Lab will not attempt to recover the first stage of Electron on this mission. This comes after the successful recovery of the stage on its last mission, dubbed We Love The Nightlife, which used a single flight-proven Rutherford engine. It is not known why Rocket Lab is not attempting recovery on this mission.

Overall, this will mark Rocket Labs 41st mission.

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-17

SpaceX is set to launch its Starlink Group 6-17 mission on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, at 9:47 PM EDT (01:47 UTC on Sept. 20). This mission will place 22 Starlink v2 Mini satellites into a roughly 284 by 294 kilometer LEO, inclined 53.00 degrees. This will bring the Starlink constellation to 5,135 satellites launched, of which 4,786 will still be in orbit.

SpaceX has been working hard with the astronomy community, attempting to protect the night sky for all to enjoy. Teams developed in-house dielectric mirrors on the surface of the satellites and extremely dark black paint for angled surfaces. These significantly reduce the amount of light reflected off of the satellites toward the ground. Moreover, SpaceX has made these brightness mitigations available for other satellite operators at cost. Video of last nights @Starlink satellite deployment pic.twitter.com/K7ezZLLusz

SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 16, 2023



The first stage supporting this mission is currently unknown. However, following the launch, the first stage will attempt to land on SpaceXs autonomous spaceport drone ship A Shortfall of Gravitas . The ship was tugged downrange by Doug , marking the first mission since Starlink Group 6-10 that was tugged by this multi-purpose recovery vessel. Following the launch, Do ug will attempt recovery of both fairing halves. Both the booster and the
fairing halves are expected to be flight-proven.

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-18

Ending the week off, SpaceX will launch another Starlink mission from SLC-40 on Sept. 23, at 8:06 PM EDT (00:03 UTC on Sept. 24). This mission will see another 22 Starlink v2 Mini satellites go to a roughly 284 by 294 kilometer LEO. It is currently unknown what booster is supporting the mission, but following liftoff it will attempt to land atop Just Read the Instructions.

(Lead image: Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Credit: Rocket Lab)

The post Launch Roundup; Rocket Lab to launch We Will Never Desert You;
SpaceX to launch two Starlink missions appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2023/09/launch-roundup-091823/


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