Odysseus passes over the near side of the Moon following lunar orbit insertion on 21FEB2024. The lander continues to be in excellent health in lunar orbit.
Intuitive Machines has confirmed that the IM-1 Nova-C class lunar lander “Odysseus” touched down on the surface of the Moon today, sometime around 6:30 PM EST. The exact time of touchdown is not yet known, as the company has not yet downloaded and released data from the spacecraft.
The last lunar landing for an American spacecraft on the Moon was December 11th 1972. That was 51 years, 1 months and 26 days ago, which is 18,684 days. Today, Intuitive Machines and Odysseus ended that long gap.
Troubles On The Way Down
The landing was not without its issues, and some of those issues remain to be rectified at the time of this writing. First, there were LASER issues that forced a software patch and rerouting of signals for the autonomous landing system. Those were completed in the last two hours of lunar orbit, and according to live commentary from NASA-TV, the fix worked satisfactorily during the final descent to the surface.
Then after the expected landing time, a longer period of uncertainty than expected about Odysseus’s fate occurred because of what was an initial loss of radio communications between the lander and mission control in Houston.
Intuitive Machines infographic describing the landing sequence of Nova-C Odysseus Graphic courtesy Intuitive Machines
Uncertainty After Landing
Flight controllers reassessed the last data they received from Odysseus, and found an unexpected 8-degree roll from the spacecraft, leading many viewers to fear the worst. IM engineers and flight controllers continued working the problem, and at one point, Intuitive Machines CTO Tim Crain announced “”We’re not dead yet!”
Not long afterwards, Crain gave some welcome news when he said, “We do have signal that we’re tracking.” That meant that Odysseus was on the lunar surface and that it was transmitting, a good sign that the landing was successful enough for the spacecraft to attempt to communicate with Earth. Crain added moments later “We have a signal from our high-gain antenna. It’s faint but it’s there.”
Then, after what must have seemed like an eternity to Intuitive Machines employees, Crain clarified by saying “We can confirm without a doubt that we are on the surface of the moon and that we are transmitting.”
Screen capture of NASA’s live stream showing Intuitive Machines employees celebrating the landing.
Finally, the announcement everyone was waiting for: “Houston, Odysseus has found his new home.”
At 8:25 PM EST, Intuitive Machines released the news everyone who had lingering doubts was waiting to hear:
“After troubleshooting communications, flight controllers have confirmed Odysseus is upright and starting to send data. Right now, we are working to downlink the first images from the lunar surface.”
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson commented after the landing that “Today, for the first time in half a century, America has returned to the Moon. On the eighth day of a quarter-million-mile voyage, Intuitive Machines aced the landing of a lifetime. What a feat for IM, SpaceX and NASA.
“What a triumph for humanity.
“Odysseus has taken the Moon.”
Indeed.
What’s Up Next?
IM and its team will no doubt be working diligently to assess Odysseus’s health and begin the slate of experiments planned for the mission.
After that, hopefully we will see photographs and video from Odysseus, including the Embry-Riddle EagleCam, which was ejected from the descending lander and providing the first-ever third-party view of an extraterrestrial spacecraft landing.
It’s more than fair to say that the work is just beginning and that NASA, the Artemis Project, all of the students and researchers involved and those of us interested parties in the general will all be learning a great deal over the next few days.
Starship’s second test flight lifts off in Texas in 2023. Photo: SpaceX
The Department of the Air Force (along with cooperating agencies the FAA, NASA, and the U.S. Coast Guard) is undertaking environmental impact studies for launch pads for SpaceX’s heavy-lift Starship rocket according to a a recent public release from them. They are also eliciting public comments, with four meetings scheduled for March 2024.
Contents
For your convenience, here is a list of sections to this lengthy article. Click an option to jump to the part you are interested in. To return to the top, click the Back button in your browser.
The DAF has placed a new website online for information regarding a new Environmental Impact Statement for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at https://spaceforcestarshipeis.com/. On it, they say
“The need for the Action is to ensure DAF Assured Access to Space without compromising current launch capabilities and fulfill (in part) the U.S. Congress’s grant of authority to the Secretary of Defense, pursuant to 10 U.S.C. Section 2276(a), “Commercial space launch cooperation,” that the Secretary of Defense is permitted to take action to:”
“Maximize the use of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) space transportation infrastructure by the private sector in the U.S.
“Maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the space transportation infrastructure of the DOD.
“Reduce the cost of services provided by the DOD related to space transportation infrastructure at launch support facilities and space recovery support facilities.
“Encourage commercial space activities by enabling investment by covered entities in the space transportation infrastructure of the DOD.
“Foster cooperation between the DOD and covered entities.”
Department of the Air Force, Retrieved February 16, 2024
Starship At a Glance
Currently under development near Brownville, Texas, Starship is the largest and most powerful rocket ever built. According to SpaceX, it will be fully reusable, and capable of lifting 150 tons of payload to orbit in a reusable configuration, and 250 tons when it is configured as a conventional expendable rocket.
Current Starship designs are 397 feet tall, and 29.5 feet in diameter, producing some 16.7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
By comparison, the Saturn V rockets used for the Apollo Program were 362 feet tall, and produced 7.6 million pounds of thrust. By any measure, Starship is a huge rocket with immense power, and its launches and returns will be heard across the Space Coast.
Similar to how SpaceX Falcon 9 completes in many of its launches today, the Starship booster would return to land at its launch site when its task for the mission has been completed. Unlike Falcon 9, which lands at a landing area close by, Starship would return to its pad, where it would be grappled by “chopsticks” as it completed its final approach.
Starship is planned to be a fully reusable vehicle, meaning that its second stage (often simply called “the ship” in SpaceX parlance) would reenter and return to land at its launch pad using the same chopsticks as the booster.
Starship is still somewhat early in its development, with two test launches so far, and a third on the plate for the next few weeks. Along with SLS, it is a vehicle integral to Project Artemis, this time in the role of being the Human Landing System. HLS is where astronauts will land, live and work on the lunar surface, with the forward plan being for extended stays.
Starship’s Propellants: Are They Toxic?
Unlike other rockets in the past that use highly toxic propellants, Starship relies on commonly found materials. The two propellants the power Starship’s Raptor engines are liquid oxygen and liquid methane. Methane is also known as “natural gas” and is used in many homes as stoves, heating systems and even some pool heaters here locally.
Methane combustion produces carbon dioxide and water as its byproducts. Starship utilizes a highly pure form of methane and oxygen, meaning that it does not have many other byproducts in its exhaust.
By comparison, rockets that use RP-1 as their fuel (Falcon 9, Saturn V, Atlas-V and many others) have carbon dioxide,water vapor, soot, sulfur containing compounds and small amounts of nitrogen oxide. All things considered, methane is a far cleaner fuel than RP-1.
Starship does not rely on solid rocket boosters (SLS, Atlas-V, Vulcan, Space Shuttle) SRBs typically emit aluminum oxide, soot, carbon dioxide, hydrogen chlorides, nitrogen oxides, hydrogen and other trace gases.
What About The Starship Tower at LC-39A?
The Starship tower under construction at LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center prior to Crew-7 launching from the adjacent Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy launch mount. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX began construction of a Starship launch mount adjacent to its Falcon 9 / Falcon Heavy launch pad at LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center a couple of years, but it appears that construction has been halted for the time being while the company perfects and finalizes their Starship design and along with it, the launch mount itself.
The proposed action by DAF for the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station does not address that launch mount or its future. There is a separate Environmental Impact Statement for that launch pad and Starship. That EIS is being conducted by the FAA as the lead agency, while for this one, the Department of the Air Force is the lead agency. Both EIS efforts have major stakeholders as part of the EIS team.
Three launch pads: on the left in the background, SpaceX is raising a launch tower for Starship. Center, Artemis-1 on its launch pad. Right, in the background, is where SpaceX launches its Falcon-class rockets, including astronauts into Earth orbit. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Proposed Launch Pads At CCSFS from Department of the Air Force
The US Space Force is part of the Department of the Air Force, much like the US Marines are to the US Navy, as such DAF is the lead agency where Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is involved. For Starship DAF has proposed the following:
SpaceX would modify and use SLC-37 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS)
SpaceX and CCSFS would build a new pad, SLC-50, between the current SLC-37 and SLC-40
No action, where no Starship constructions or launch occurred from CCSFS
Option 1: SLC-37
SLC-37 Photo: Google Earth
Located nearly due east from NASA Parkway, SLC-37 currently is used by United Launch Alliance for Delta IV Heavy launches. That program has all but ended, with only one launch of the venerable heavy lifter remaining. That launch is scheduled for the March time frame when the company will loft the NROL-70 payload from the pad. After that, there are no Delta IV Heavy launches remaining.
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the NROL-68 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifts off from Space Launch Complex-37 on June. 22, 2023 at 5:18 a.m. ET. Photo: United Launch Alliance
SLC-37 is one of the older launch complexes at the Eastern Range — Construction on it started in 1959 and was used by NASA to support the Saturn I program starting in 1963. It originally had two launch pads, 37A and 37B, though 37A was never used. Saturn I launched from it from 1964-65, and the site was modified for Saturn IB launches, the most notable of which was Apollo 5. After that, in 1972, LC-37 was mothballed until 2001 when ULA began using it for Delta launches.
The Saturn IB launch vehicle (SA204) for the Apollo 5 mission lifted off on January 22, 1968. The unmarned Apollo 5 mission verified the ascent and descent stage propulsion systems, including restart and throttle operations of the Lunar Module. Photo: NASA
Given that SLC-37 has hosted launches for around sixty years, it presumably would have the least environmental impact of the two options the Space Force listed. Undoubtedly, that would have to studied and verified before SpaceX could begin construction at the facility.
Option 2: SLC-50
Slightly north of SLC-37 is another potential location for a new pad, according to the Space Force release.
Approximation of the proposed alternative area for an SLC-50 Photo: Google Earth
This is currently an undeveloped area of the facility, and conversion and construction of a new launch pad would require environmental impact studies to be completed prior to any construction there.
Option 3: No Construction
This is what it sounds like, no Starship launch pad would be built at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Given that NASA has stated that no new LC-49 pad studies or activities are underway from the Kennedy Space Center side of the Eastern Range, that leaves either the LC-39A launch mount being completed for Starship or Starship not launching from the Eastern Range at all.
The latter option — no launch pad, no Starship — would be problematic for both SpaceX and for NASA, who is relying on Starship for the Artemis program and its lunar lander. It is possible that SpaceX and NASA could reach agreement to complete the Starship Launch Mount at LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center, but that comes with its own issues.
Project Flight Paths
Many people may be wondering just where Starship would fly. The simple answer appears to be that it would be able to take the typical range of trajectories as other rockets that have flown or are flying from the Eastern Range today.
Notably, however, “polar” (North-South orbits) trajectories such as the ones SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has taken from to time from SLC-40 were not mentioned and we presume not in the current plans for Starship.
It is also worth noting that like Falcon 9, Starship and its boosters will return to the Cape to land, be refurbished and reused. That will bring sonic booms, just like the old Space Shuttle landings and today’s Falcon 9 RTLS missions such as Crew-8 on March 3, 2024.
From the DAF-supplied information packet:
Starship would fly from 40º – 115º from its launch mount, which is a typical range of azimuths for Eastern Range Rockets
Why Not Stay In Texas?
SpaceX’s launch facility in Texas at Boca Chica has a limited acceptable set of trajectories available to it — Florida is to the East, Texas and the Gulf states are to the north, and Cuba and other land masses are to the south.
Two paths from Boca Chica would would avoid overflight of most far downrange landmasses, though they may also require performance reducing “dogleg” maneuvers to avoid other landmasses and achieve proper orbit. The red areas show previous Falcon 9 drop zones. Cape Canaveral can accommodate a much more diverse set of launch inclinations without overflying populated areas.
For test launches, Starship plans to thread a launch path over the Gulf of Mexico and then to orbit. From the Eastern Range, a much wider set of trajectories are available due to the Atlantic Ocean being mostly devoid of people or property over a much wider area.
All things considered, Starship operations from the Eastern Range and the Cape is a preferable destination for SpaceX and for NASA.
Potential Economic Impact For The Space Coast?
Starship launches from the Eastern Range could easily bring billions of dollars in economic activity to the Space Coast region: SpaceX launch support jobs at the Cape, along with the associated jobs that are created to support the families of those workers, and of course tourism.
As a major Starship launch port, the Space Coast would cement itself now and in the future as the starting point for space launches of all types. The area has seen boom and bust in its history, and having the most dominant commercial space company in the world using Cape Canaveral Space Force station as its main operational site would all but ensure a prosperous future for the area.
Local Public Hearings Scheduled
The public has been invited to have their say about the proposed alternatives:
Talk of Titusville strongly encourages interested members of the public to participate in these meetings. As the leading company for launch services in the world, much of the Space Coast’s economic future rests on this decision.
Next Steps
February 16, 2024
After making the announcement and holding public hearings in March, the EIS will then conduct studies and prepare a draft release of the EIS in Winter 2024. Being that there is only one winter month in December, that indicates that the draft EIS is due that month. That is not set in stone, however, so stay tuned for an announcement of specially when that date may be.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
SpaceX, NASA and Intuitive Machines are planning to launch the NASA CLPS IM-1 lunar lander Odysseus tonight at Kennedy Space Center from Pad LC-39A at 12:57 AM EST. The launch, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, aims to be the first successful American soft-landing on the lunar surface since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Following the launch, the booster being used for the mission will return to land at LZ-1 in Cape Canaveral, and will herald its return with a sonic boom that will be heard across the Space Coast region.
That’s the first of two launches scheduled for Valentine’s Day. The second is USSF-124, launching from SpaceX’s pad SLC-40 Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This mission’s launch window extends from 5:30 PM until 10:00 PM EST and is also an RTLS mission.
Launch Weather Outlook: NASA CLPS IM-1
First, the early launch, NASA CLPS/IM-1: the 45th Weather Squadron of the US Space Force is predicting a low Probability of Violation for the planned liftoff at 12:57 AM EST: only 5%. That means they are expecting a 95% chance of acceptable conditions for liftoff.
NASA CLPS IM-1 Trajectory
As is customary for most missions beyond Earth orbit, NASA CLPS IM-1 will take an easterly path from KSC after liftoff. People watching the launch in person should be able to see the reentry burn and if in the right place, the landing burn of Falcon 9 as it returns to land.
A Falcon 9 Booster landing at LZ-1 in 2023 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Launch Weather Outlook: USSF-124
The weather gets even better for the second planned launch of the day, according to the 45th Weather Wing: less than a 5% Probability of Violation, meaning a 95+% chance of acceptable weather conditions at liftoff.
USSF-124 Trajectory
Also eastward. Again, in-person launch viewers should be able to see the reentry burn and if in the right place, the landing burn of Falcon 9 as it returns to land.
SpaceX has not announced which landing pad they will utilize for this launch — either LZ-2, or perhaps the Falcon 9 used for LM-1 will be removed in time for USSF-124. Either way, to launch viewers off of the base itself, the landing will be in the same general direction.
Falcon 9 lifting off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in 2023. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Polaris Dawn, the initial flight of a planned series of three private spaceflights led by American entrepreneur and private astronaut Jared Isaacman, has been delayed according to an announcement from the program today. “We are now targeting no earlier than summer 2024 for launch of Polaris Dawn, the first of the Polaris Program’s three human spaceflights,” they said in a post on the X platform.
Flying aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and a Crew Dragon capsule from Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A, the five-day Polaris Dawn mission will represent several firsts for private spaceflight: the first time an EVA is undertaken from a private spacecraft in orbit, and at a planned altitude of at least 700 km (434 miles) it will be well above the 400 km (~250 mile) orbit of ISS when that spacewalk happens.
SpaceX Crew Dragon on the pad at Kennedy Space Center’s LC-39A in 2024. Photo: Charles Boyer, Talk of Titusville
They are also planning a 1,400 km (~870 mile) apogee during the flight, according to Polaris Program. Currently, the record for altitude for a crew in Earth orbit is 1,369.0 km, (739.2 nautical miles.) Should Polaris Dawn reach 1,400 km, it will be the highest crewed orbital flight in human history, and certainly the highest in over fifty years.
Polaris Dawn Science Plans
Aside from the groundbreaking EVA, Polaris Dawn will also be “the first crew to test Starlink laser-based communications in space.” They will also perform experiments:
“Using ultrasound to monitor, detect, and quantify venous gas emboli (VGE), contributing to studies on human prevalence to decompression sickness;
“Gathering data on the radiation environment to better understand how space radiation affects human biological systems;
“Providing biological samples towards multi-omics analyses for a long-term Biobank; and
“Research related to Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS), which is a key risk to human health in long-duration spaceflight.”
There are other experiments planned for Polaris Dawn. More information about the Polaris Dawn mission is at the program’s website.
After the Polaris Dawn flight, the Polaris Program plans one additional flight on a Falcon 9 / Crew Dragon, and a final flight being planned to be completed using a SpaceX Starship, the company’s new rocket under development in south Texas. The third flight is also slated to be the first crewed flight of Starship according to the Polaris Program website. Launch timelines for those missions have not yet been publicly disclosed.
More Development Time Needed
According to the Polaris Program, “The additional time continues to provide necessary developmental time to ensure both the completion of these mission goals and a safe launch and return of Dragon and the crew.” They did not give specifics about which aspects of the mission require further time, but did add that the crew is already training at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California and also that additional time gives the crew additional time to raise funds for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
About St. Jude
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is located in Memphis, Tennessee, and according to their website, they “Advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of our founder Danny Thomas, no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.”
There are few causes with greater impact than helping families whose children are undergoing treatment for severe, life-threatening illnesses. Interested people can donate to St. Jude through the Polaris Dawn website.
Statue of St. Jude on the campus in Memphis. Photo: St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital
Falcon 9 lifting off with NASA’s PACE satellite aboard. Photo: Charles Boyer
After two delays due to high winds, SpaceX launched the PACE Earth-observing satellite to orbit from Cape Canaveral this morning. Seven and one half minutes later, Booster 1081 announced its return to the Space Coast with a sonic boom moments after safely touching down, completing its fourth flight.
SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off with NASA’s PACE satellite on February 8, 2024 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
After two delays due to high winds, SpaceX launched the PACE Earth-observing satellite to orbit from Cape Canaveral this morning. Seven and one half minutes later, Booster 1081 announced its return to the Space Coast with a sonic boom moments after safely touching down, completing its fourth flight.
The launch was the eighth for the Eastern Range this year, the 223rd orbital attempt from SLC-40, and the 923rd from Cape Canaveral.
According the Tim Dunn of NASA’s Launch Services Program, and the launch director for tonight’s flight, “PACE is the eighth NASA LSP mission to launch on a SpaceX rocket, and the first government mission to fly a polar trajectory from the Cape since November of 1960.”
SpaceX has flown polar missions commercially 11 times, Dunn added. Today’s launch was the twelfth such mission.
From the Kennedy Space Center Press Site, photographer Ed Cordero caught this incredibly detailed B&W photo of SpaceX’s launch of PACE last night. You can see the engine nozzles on Falcon 9 as it ascends from the launch pad. Photo: Ed Cordero, Florida Media Now
In a press release from NASA issued early this morning, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “Congratulations to the PACE team on a successful launch. With this new addition to NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites, PACE will help us learn, like never before, how particles in our atmosphere and our oceans can identify key factors impacting global warming.”
After separation from the second stage, Falcon 9 put on a spectacular display over the skies of the Space Coast. Photo: Richard Gallagher, Florida Media Now
Next Up For PACE
Following the successful launch, according to NASA , next up for PACE is a PLAR, or Post-Launch Assessment review. “The PLAR is conducted following the launch, typically after the early flight operations and initial checkout.”
“At the PLAR, the PACE project demonstrates to the review panel, the readiness of the spacecraft systems to proceed with full, routine operations; status, performance, and capabilities of the project as evidenced from the flight operations experience since launch; readiness to transfer responsibility from the development organization to the operations organization; project plans and the capability to conduct the mission with emphasis on near-term operations and mission-critical events.”
Assuming a healthy spacecraft, after the PLAR, PACE is expected to begin operations later this coming spring.
PACE Mission
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.”
Dr. Karen St. Germain, Director of NASA’s Earth Sciences Division
Prior to the launch, Dr. Karen St. Germain, the director of NASA’s Earth Science Division said, “The surface of the Earth is covered 70% by oceans and yet in many ways we know more about the surface of the Moon than we do about our own oceans. PACE will be the most advanced mission we’ve ever launched to study ocean biology.”
She added that PACE “will join SWOT [that] we launched a little over a year ago that’s giving us the most detailed view we’ve ever had of the physical oceanography, [of] how water is moving in our oceans and that is very closely related to what PACE will tell about what’s living in our oceans.”
Booster
SpaceX used Booster 1081 for this mission, its fourth mission.
Flight
Date
Mission
Launch Pad
Result
1
26 August 2023
Crew-7
LC-39A
Success
2
10 November 2023
CRS-29
LC-39A
Success
3
19 December 2023
Starlink 6-34
SLC-40
Success
4
08 February 2024
NASA PACE
SLC-40
Success
Booster 1081 launch record as of 2/8/2024
After post-landing checkouts, the booster will be returned to Hangar X at Kennedy Space Center for inspection and ostensibly for needed refurbishment and preparations needed to ready it for its next launch.
Next Launch
On February 14th NASA CLPS / Intuitive Machines IM-1 is scheduled to launch from LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center aboard a Falcon 9 booster. The listed launch time is 12:57 AM EST.
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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Challenges For A South Texas Spaceport.pdf
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