February 2024

SpaceX and NASA plan to launch the PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite at 1:33 AM EST Thursday from the company’s launch facility at SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral. Booster 1071 will return to the Cape and land about 5.6 miles away at Landing Zone 1 a little more than seven minutes after liftoff (T-plus 00:07:32.)

The launch has been delayed twice this week due to high winds created by an intense low-pressure system off the Florida coast in the Atlantic but it is now moving away, and winds have been steadily calming throughout the day. The 45th Weather Squadron’s Mission Execution Forecast calls for a 95% chance of acceptable conditions this morning.

A Sonic Boom Will Be Heard In The Space Coast Area

A sonic boom will accompany the landing and spread out through the Space Coast at roughly 1:41 AM EST. Remember that sound travels one mile in five seconds at sea level, so the specific time the sonic boom will arrive at your location will be relative to your distance from LZ-1.

PACE is a NASA Earth-observing satellite mission that will perform advanced observations of global ocean color, biogeochemistry, and ecology, as well as the carbon cycle, aerosols, and clouds. That data is key to identifying the scope of climate changes in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The launch trajectory is roughly due south, so areas in southern Brevard County may hear louder than normal launch rumble, and it may last longer as the flying booster passes by.

A live webcast of this mission will begin on NASA+ and NASA Television about 45 minutes before liftoff.

Axiom-3 Landing Planned for Friday Near Daytona Beach

The Axiom-3 crew aboard the International Space Station
Photo: Axiom Space

The return of the Axiom-3 crew has also been affected by windy conditions; SpaceX and Axiom Space have announced that the splashdown of the Dragon capsule should be around 7:25 AM Friday. AX-3 astronauts Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) Commander Michael López-Alegría, Pilot Walter Villadei, Mission Specialist Alper Gezeravcı, and Mission Specialist Marcus Wandt departed ISS at 9:20 AM EST today.

“We hope you had a wonderful time on station, and we’re looking forward to seeing your smiling faces,” SpaceX ground control told the astronauts as the departed ISS.

On Wednesday, February 7 at 9:20 a.m. ET, Dragon autonomously undocked from the International Space Station. After performing a series of burns to move away from the space station, Dragon will conduct multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers, jettison its trunk, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of Florida approximately two days later on Friday, February 9.

SpaceX, retrieved 2/7/2024 1:00 PM EST

Splashdown is currently planned for near Daytona Beach. That is subject to change, however, as wave height, wind and rain in the landing area must meet NASA and SpaceX’s criteria for the safe return and retrieval of the Dragon spacecraft.

Locally, it’s somewhat unlikely that most people in Brevard County will hear the sonic boom that heralds a returning spacecraft to Earth. Residents can see Crew Dragon streaking across the sky as it re-enters by looking northwards, relatively low to the horizon.

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The planned launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) until NET Wednesday at 1:33 AM EST due to inclement weather. While NASA did not specifically cite which weather criteria created the need to delay, it almost certainly was due to high winds expected to build through the morning hours as a frontal boundary pushes through the Space Coast region.

NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the Feb. 6 launch of the agency’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission due to unfavorable weather conditions. NASA and SpaceX are now targeting launch at 1:33 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 7, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Both the PACE satellite and the Falcon 9 rocket remain healthy.

Live launch coverage will begin on NASA+ and NASA TV public channel at 12:45 a.m.

NASA: 9:53 PM February 5, 2024

PACE is an NASA Earth-observing satellite mission that will perform advanced observations of global ocean color, biogeochemistry, and ecology, as well as the carbon cycle, aerosols and clouds. That data is key to identifying the scope of climate changes in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Wednesday Morning Outlook

The 45th Weather Wing has issued a Probability of Violation forecast for the launch, giving it a 50/50 chance of being within acceptable conditions early tomorrow morning:

45th Weather Wing PACE L-1 forecast, issued at 01:15AM February 6, 2024

As the 45th Weather Wing indicated, the Space Coast area will remain under a Wind Advisory until around 1 AM Wednesday morning. Launch time is 1:33AM.

Weather forecasts are always subject to change. Talk of Titusville will update this article with new forecasts as they become available.

Falcon 9 with PACE on the launch pad at SLC-40 on February 5, 2024.
Photo: Charles Boyer, Talk of Titusville
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SpaceX and NASA are planning to launch a Falcon 9 from SLC-40 NET Tuesday morning at 1:33 AM EST. Weather may be a concern: the 45th Weather Squadron has yet to issue a Probability of Violation forecast, but the National Weather Service and other general forecast products are calling for a good chance of wind and rain at the planned launch time.

NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) observatory is inspected and processed on a spacecraft dolly in a high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023
Photo: NASA
NASA and SpaceX technicians safely encapsulate NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft in SpaceX’s Falcon 9 payload fairings on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024, at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
(click to view full size)
Photo: NASA

The payload for the mission is NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite. It is an Earth-observing instrument that will conduct observations of global ocean color, biogeochemistry, and ecology, as well as the carbon cycle, aerosols as well as as clouds.

According to NASA, “PACE’s data will help us better understand how the ocean and atmosphere exchange carbon dioxide. In addition, it will reveal how aerosols might fuel phytoplankton growth in the surface ocean. Novel uses of PACE data will benefit our economy and society. For example, it will help identify the extent and duration of harmful algal blooms. PACE will extend and expand NASA’s long-term observations of our living planet. By doing so, it will take Earth’s pulse in new ways for decades to come.”

Weather A Concern

Until the 45th Weather Squadron releases their official launch forecast, here’s the general weather forecast. Note that this forecast does not consider rocket launch weather criteria and should be used only for a very general look ahead:

Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Windy, with a north northwest wind 15 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 65. Windy, with a north wind 25 to 30 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.

National Weather Service’s Cape Canaveral Forecast (02/03/PM 6:45 PM EST)

Trajectory

Trajectory will be south, with the final destination being a Sun-synchronous orbit.

Via Flightclub.io

Sonic Boom Advisory

This will be an RTLS (Return To Launch Site) mission. Space Coast residents can expect a sonic boom to spread through the area after 1:42 AM. Remember that sound travels about five miles per second, so the exact time for the sonic boom’s arrival is dependent on your location’s distance to LZ-1.

In an email to media, SpaceX released the following:

SpaceX is targeting Tuesday, February 6 at 1:33 a.m. ET for a Falcon 9 launch of NASA’s PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) mission to a sun-synchronous orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. If needed, a backup opportunity is available Wednesday, February 7 at the same time.

About eight minutes after liftoff, Falcon 9’s first stage will land on SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. There is the possibility that residents of Brevard, Orange, Osceola, Indian River, Seminole, Volusia, Polk, St. Lucie, and Okeechobee County counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the landing, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.

SpaceX, February 5, 2024
SpaceX Falcon 9 with PACE aboard, February 5, 2024
Photo: Charles Boyer

Booster

SpaceX will use Booster 1081 for this mission, which will be its fourth mission.

FlightDateMissionLaunch PadResult
126 August 2023Crew-7LC-39ASuccess
210 November 2023CRS-29LC-39ASuccess
319 December 2023Starlink 6-34SLC-40Success
4NET 6 February 2024NASA PACESLC-40TBD
Booster 1081 launch record as of 2/5/2024
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Timelapse of SpaceX/NASA Crew-6 Re-entry over Biolab Road in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in 2023. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville

SpaceX announced overnight that the expected return of the Axiom-3 astronauts aboard a Crew Dragon has been delayed.

SpaceX, Axiom Space, and NASA are targeting no earlier than Tuesday,

Dragon and the Ax-3 crew are now targeting no earlier than Tuesday, February 6 at 9:05 a.m. ET to undock from the [International Space Station.] Teams continue to keep an eye on recovery weather conditions

SpaceX, February 4, 2024

The company also added more information on their website:

February 6 at 9:05 a.m. ET for Dragon and the Ax-3 astronauts to depart from the International Space Station. After performing a series of burns to move away from the space station, Dragon will conduct multiple orbit-lowering maneuvers, jettison its trunk, and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere for splashdown off the coast of Florida approximately nine hours later the same day.

SpaceX, Ax-3 Mission, Retrieved February 4, 2024
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Photo: Lockheed Martin photography by Michael Jackson.

Many people forget this, but NASA’s first “A” is for “Aeronautics.”

The Agency’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) operates at a fraction of the budget as the space portion of NASA. Still, like the space side of the Agency, it does some pretty spectacular research. From winglets on commercial aircraft that save fuel to the X-15 — the first aircraft to reach the edge of space, ARMD has created incredible knowledge and value throughout its existence.

ARMD’s Newest Aircraft

One of the latest things that ARMD has done is build the X-59 supersonic aircraft, designed to be quieter than previous birds built to fly faster than sound (761 mph, or 1100 feet/second at sea level.)

“Looks Pretty, Flies Pretty”

Old aviator adage

According to them, “the X-59 was built to demonstrate the ability to fly supersonic, or faster than the speed of sound, while reducing the typically loud sonic boom produced by aircraft at such speeds to a quieter sonic “thump”. That sound is a familiar one to residents of the Space Coast: SpaceX Falcon 9 boosters returning to Cape Canaveral create a sonic boom to announce their arrival, and before that, the Space Shuttle did the same.

NASA ARMD have also made it clear that X-59 is an experimental, one of a kind plane that is designed to be an information gathering platform rather than serve as a prototype.

For more information and photos of the X-59: NASA Unveils the X-59 Supersonic Test Aircraft.

New Photos

ARMD and Lockheed-Martin recently released some new photos of X-59. Click on the tile to see in full size.

Its first flight is scheduled for sometime this year.

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Official NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 portrait: (L-R) Stephanie Wilson, Aleksandr Gorbunov, Nick Hague, and Zena Cardman.
Photo: NASA

NASA announced the four astronauts that will travel aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station later this year: Zena Cardman will be the Mission Commander,  Nick Hague will be the Pilot, along with Stephanie Wilson and Russian Mission Specialist Aleksandr Gorbunov will travel to ISS no earlier than August 2024.

Zena Cardman

Zena Cardman
Photo: UNC Chapel Hill

Cardman will be making her first spaceflight on this mission. She is a Williamsburg, Virginia, native and holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology plus a master’s in Marine Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While a doctoral candidate, Cardman researched geobiology and geochemical cycling in subsurface environments, from caves to deep-sea sediments. Since joining NASA, she has supported real-time ISS operations and development for lunar surface exploration.

Nick Hague

Nick Hague
Photo: NASA

For Hague, this mission will be his third launch and his second mission to ISS. During his first launch in 2018, Hague and his crewmate Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin were aboard Soyuz MS-10 when they experienced a booster failure resulting in an in-flight launch abort. The spacecraft landed safely with no serious injuries. Resiliently, only five months later, Hague launched aboard Soyuz MS-12 and served as a flight engineer aboard the space station during Expeditions 59 and 60. He has spent 203 days in space and has conducted three spacewalks as part of his duties aboard ISS.

Soyuz MS-10 breaking up above Kazakhstan with Nick Hague abord. The launch abort system can be seen firing, bottom center.
Photo: NASA

Stephanie Wilson

Stephanie Wilson
Photo: NASA

Wilson has spent 42 days in space aboard three separate space shuttle Discovery missions, STS-121, STS-120, and STS-131. A graduate of  Engineering Science from Harvard University, she also earned a master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin. Wilson has been with NASA for 29 years and has served as the integration branch chief for NASA’s Astronaut Office, focusing on International Space Station systems and payload operations. She also served as the acting chief of NASA’s Program and Project Integration Office at the agency’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

As the ground fills with smoke and steam, Space Shuttle Discovery creates its own fireworks display, fitting for the first ever launch on Independence Day. It was the third launch attempt in four days; the others were scrubbed due to weather concerns. Liftoff on mission STS-121 was on-time at 2:38 p.m. EDT. During the 12-day mission, the STS-121 crew of seven will test new equipment and procedures to improve shuttle safety, deliver supplies and make repairs to the International Space Station. Landing is scheduled for July 16 or 17 at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility.
Photo: NASA/Nikon/Scott Andrews
Aleksandr Gorbunov
Photo: Roscosmos

Aleksandr Gorbunov

The mission will be Gorbunov’s first trip to space and the station. Hailing from Zheleznogorsk, in south-central Russia, he studied engineering with qualifications in spacecraft and upper stages from the Moscow Aviation Institute. Gorbunov graduated from the military department with a specialty in operating and repairing aircraft, helicopters, and aircraft engines.  He previously worked for engineer for Rocket Space Corporation Energia and since joining the Russian cosmonaut corps, he has supported Russian cargo missions to ISS.

This will be the ninth rotational mission to the space station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

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SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying the Northrup Grumman NG-20 mission towards ISS this afternoon. The launch was at 12:07 PM EST from the company’s launch pad at SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and once it had completed its part of the mission, Booster 1077 completed its tenth flight when it safely touched down at Landing Zone 1, about 5.6 miles to the south of where it launched a little more than eight minutes earlier.

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On Tuesday, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from Pad SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral, sending over 8,000 pounds of supplies aboard a Northrup Grumman Cygnus cargo craft to the International Space Station. This was NG’s 20th resupply mission.

Enjoy this 4K video with Surround Sound of the launch, as it was seen from inside the fence at Pad SLC-40. The video was created by the author:

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