66 years ago today, the U.S. Navy pulled support from the PGM-19 Jupiter medium-range ballistic missile. Jupiter was originally intended to be a joint Army-Navy project for an all-purpose nuclear missile. In fact, its original design was optimized for use as a submarine-launched missile. But the Navy decided that having a missile fueled by liquid oxygen would not give them the readiness they desired. They would focus on the solid-fueled UGM-27 Polaris SLBM instead. As I have noted before, the parallel development of Thor with the Air Force would limit Jupiter's usefulness once the DoD soured on non-storable fuels. Jupiter would only see deployment as a weapon in NATO nations for a few years, and would be eliminated with the Cuban Missile Crisis. Only four of its ten orbital launch attempts, as the Juno II orbital rocket, were successful.
SpaceX's commercial launches are ramping up a bit. Hot Bird 13G was launched for Eutelsat early this morning at 1:22am EDT. They decided to wait one orbit for the launch to complete checkouts. First stage 1067.7 was caught by Just Read the Instructions. The Galaxy 31 and Galaxy 32 dual launch is penned in for next Tuesday at 11:16am EST. It will serve as B1051.14's swan song, as it will not be recovered. B1049.11's swan song with Eutelsat 10B does not have a firm date yet. But since it doesn't need a drone ship, it can be squeezed into the manifest at any time. Crew Dragon CRS-26 is penned in now for November 22 at 4:40pm EST. Among other things, it will carry the next set of iROSA solar arrays to the International Space Station. Cygnus NG-18 S.S. Sally Ride is set for early Sunday morning at 5:50am EST. And with the latest launch of OneWeb comsats, it looks like their first Falcon 9 launch will come sooner rather than later. It might take place this month, and is currently set to carry 40 satellites. Makes sense they'd carry more, since (1) the Falcon 9 can launch more than either Soyuz-2 or LVM3, and (2) they're launching literally down the road from their production facility at Kennedy Space Center's business park.
The complete guide to how we plan on catching a rocket falling from space with a helicopter. Check out the mission info kit ahead of lift-off: https://t.co/v8MPFhYQoz pic.twitter.com/0TY79CvZ3s— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) November 4, 2022
The crawler transporter carrying the Artemis 1 moon rocket has arrived at launch complex 39B and is moving into position atop the pad deck. Watch live: https://t.co/XLY3Dsswns pic.twitter.com/O43U8ayby9— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) November 4, 2022 Artemis 1 has returned to Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center. It was rolled from the Vehicle Assembly Building overnight. Now, there is a new clock they are racing against: the solid rocket boosters. The normal procedure for SRBs during the Space Shuttle program was that they were not to be stacked for more than a year without launching. NASA technicians extended that to 23 months for the Space Launch system following engineering reviews of the system. Stacking for the SRBs for Artemis 1 began in late 2020. The SRBs "expire" on December 9 and December 14, respectively. The November launch window could be the last chance to launch before the entire SLS has to be de-stacked. Which could delay the mission to mid-2023. And yes, they did replace the batteries in the flight termination system. Of course, that's no guarantee that the five cubesats that can't be recharged will work. ******** NASA confirms that Crew-6 is now scheduled for February 2023, and Crew-7 in the fall of 2023. Starliner‘s first crewed test flight moves to April for ISS traffic considerations, and looks like no full-up crew rotation flight for Starliner until 2024.📸 @spacecoast_stve pic.twitter.com/r2N02STLZc— Chris G (@ChrisG_SpX) November 3, 2022 Meanwhile, scheduling has put the Starliner Crewed Flight Test to April 2023. NASA has confirmed that SpaceX Crew-6 will take place NET February 2023, and SpaceX Crew-7 will take place NET August 2023. This means the earliest Starliner will begin operational flight is 2024. Crew-7 has already received its crew assignments, and it's going to be completely worldwide. The commander will be NASA Group 22 recruit Jasmin Moghbeli. She will be joined by Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen, JAXA astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov. Starliner-1 finally got a new crew, with commander Scott Tingle and pilot Michael Fincke joining Jeanette Epps. There is still a vacant mission specialist slot.
27 years ago today, the Canadian RADAR satellite RADARSAT-1 was launched atop a Delta II 7920 rocket from Pad 2W, Vandenberg AFB. It was the first time a Delta II 7000-series rocket was launched without a kickmotor. All 7000-series launches to that point had been 7925 configurations with nine SRMs and the Star-48D Payload Assist Module. It was also the first launch of a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base. I don't know the story behind the wait; the last Delta launch from Pad 2W had been the Cosmic Background Observer (COBE) microwave telescope in 1989, which was the unique 5920 configuration. RADARSAT-1 was built by Spar Aerospace (now part of MDA) and Ball Aerospace. It had seven different beam modes of synthetic aperture RADAR (SAR) to keep tabs on the Earth's surface at any time, in any conditions. It had resolution as high as 10 metres from a roughly 800km SSO. It would remain in operation for 18 years. It was the progenitor to the modern RADARSAT Constellation. Its immediate successor, RADARSAT-2, was launched atop a Soyuz-Fregat rocket from Kazahkstan in December 2007. A constellation of three RADARSAT probes would follow atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg AFB in June 2019.
So whose burnt toast scrubbed the launch?— Michael Baylor (@MichaelBaylor_) November 6, 2022 The launch of Cygnus NG-18 S.S. Sally Ride was scrubed this morning because of a fire alarm at the Cygnus operations center in Dulles, Virginia. It has already been reset for tomorrow morning at 5:27am EST. ******** As part of the Emirates Lunar Mission, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory is including an orbital cubesat called the Lunar Flashlight. Lunar Flashlight is a 6U cubesat which will separate from Hakuto-R and Rashid after TLI, and enter lunar orbit under its own power. Its planned orbit has a periselene of 12 km, with an aposelene in the 1,000-5,000-km range. It has 2 kg of monopropellant. About a third of the cubesat will comprise an infrared spectrometer. Its main mission is to verify the presence of water ice in the Moon's polar regions, and map its extent. It was originally planned to be one of the cubesats included in Artemis 1, but was not ready in time to be included in that mission. Which may or may not have been a good thing, depending on whether or not it could be recharged during all the ensuing delays like only half of the ten cubesats that did make it. ******** The first H3 rocket is rolling out to the pad for a static fire test scheduled for later today. https://t.co/OLgp76WIXf— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) November 6, 2022 JAXA is rolling out the first H3 rocket today for a planned static fire. The static fire is currently estimated for around 4:45pm EST (2145 UTC, so late tomorrow morning JST). They are still hoping to get a test flight down by the end of the year. There are six H3 launches planned for 2023, including one for Inmarsat. There are also four H-IIA launches planned for 2023, which could be their last.
With the potential approach of Subtropical Storm Nicole, Patrick SFB and Cape Canaveral are on elevated alert. The Galaxy dual launch scheduled for Wednesday has been delayed to Saturday at 11:06am EST. It has been decided that Artemis 1 will remain at Pad 39B. Given what I have posted recently about the SRBs, NASA is likely determined not to roll back again unless they absolutely have to, since it would likely mean an extended delay well into 2023. Cargo Dragon CRS-26 has been pushed forward a bit to next Saturday, November 19, at 5:04pm EST. The Hakuto-R lunar lander and Rashid rover are now penciled in for November 22. SpaceX is also still hoping to launch their first OneWeb flight, two Starlink launches, and Eutelsat 10B, though none have solid dates yet. At least Eutelsat 10B can go at any time, since it's an expendable launch. ******** Relativity Space is still working on launching its Terran 1 smallsat rocket. They might get clearance for their debut flight this month from Pad 16, Cape Canaveral. Relativity is also working on a medium-class launcher, Terran R. They have their eyes on Terran R competing with Falcon 9. Remember, Elon Musk said he likes having multiple irons on the fire, and welcomes this kind of competition. Like Terran 1, Terran R will be mainly 3D-printed, but at a much larger scale. Two weeks ago, Relativity fired up their new Stargate metal 3D printer. They are claiming that their new production process will create rockets with 1% of the separate parts of typically-manufactured rockets. It will be powered by the newer Aeon R engine. A single Aeon R will have a thrust of 300,000 lb-f, and will also be fueled by liquid methane. Its upper stage will have the same AeonVac engine as the upper stage for Terran 1. The Block 2 version of Terran 1 will be powered by a single Aeon R engine, which will increase its first-stage thrust by nearly 50%. Testing for the Aeon R will begin next year at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. With expansions to its commercial engine testing facilities, NASA is anticipating adding up to 600 jobs at the site. The goal is to have an expendable payload capacity to LEO of 20 metric tons, with future reusability in mind. I'm not sure what their reusability plans are yet. The current goal is to have first launch of Terran R in 2024, also from Pad 16, Cape Canaveral.
Happy 86th birthday to NASA astronaut Dr. Edward Gibson. Born in Buffalo, he suffered from osteomyelitis when he was a child. Doctors were concerned at least one of his legs would need to be amputated for him to lead a normal life. But he was cured by a then-new breakthrough in medicine: penicillin. He would go on to earn a bachelor's in engineering from the University of Rochester in 1959. From there, he would go to CalTech, where he did postgrad research at the Jet Propulsion Labratory, ultimately getting his doctorate in engineering in 1964. Among his study areas was plasma physics in connection with the Sun. He was selected by NASA as part the science-oriented Group 4 in 1965; he was the youngest member of the class. Dr. Gibson was the first member of the group to get a support crew assignment, being placed on the support team for Apollo 12. (Owen Garriott's assignment to the support crew of Apollo 11 would come later.) He would also take part in design of the Apollo Applications Program Orbital Workshop. He would be chosen as the science astronaut for Skylab 4, during which he would take part in three EVAs. Of course, the crew was controversial, which varying stories about just what happened around New Year's 1974. It could've been a mutiny. It may have been a simple misunderstanding. Dr. Gibson left NASA in 1974 to take part of data analysis for the results of the Apollo Telescope Mount. He would also spend 1976 consulting with ERNO in West Germany. In 1977, he returned to the Astronaut Office. However, he developed misgivings with the Space Shuttle. After serving as CAPCOM for STS-1, he left NASA for good in 1982. After eight years at TRW, Dr. Gibson formed his own project management consulting firm in 1990 which is oriented toward space infrastructure. He has also written physics textbooks, and published two novels. He is married, and has four children.
Northrop Grumman suffered a bit of an oopsie. A Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship arrived at the International Space Station Wednesday, overcoming a deployment failure on one of its two power-generating solar arrays to deliver 4.1 tons of cargo and experiments to the complex. https://t.co/SbGZvy6tT7 pic.twitter.com/KeiWJtCkFp— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) November 9, 2022 One of the two radial solar panels on S.S. Sally Ride failed to deploy. It was quickly determined after payload deployment on Monday that one of the panels did not deploy. The spacecraft had enough power to complete its maneuvers to get to the International Space Station, and was grappled by Canadarm2 at 5:20am EST. Ground controllers will berth the craft at Harmony nadir later today. Upon approach, visual confirmation showed that the afflicted solar array was put out in position, but never unfurled. Northrop Grumman is trying to determine why. Within S.S. Sally Ride is 8,465 pounds of cargo; Northrop Grumman gloated that they packed it to within one pound of its payload capacity. Among the cargo is another mod kit in preparation for the installation of more iROSA solar arrays, which will arrive in the unpressurized trunk of Cargo Dragon CRS-26, scheduled to launch later this month. They also have Thanksgiving-oriented treats, including some fresh fruit. Though with the power deficit, one has to wonder if those are still fresh. It is also planned that S.S. Sally Ride will do a reboost of the ISS during its stay. EDIT: They ended up berthing it to Unity nadir. This is likely due to the planned reboost, as it places it at the center of gravity for the ISS.
After a short delay, JPSS-2 was launched at 4:25am EST, drawing the curtains on the history of Atlas at Vandenberg Space Force Base. But the show was stolen by its secondary payload, the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID). LOFTID is essentially an inflatable heat shield. Similar concepts were tested twice in suborbital flights in the 2010s. But this is the first time such a heat shield has been put in orbit. The concept is similar to a ballute; a hybrid of a parachute and a balloon. If the term "ballute" is fimilar, then you watched the film version of 2010. Leonov, the Soviet spacecraft sent to Jupiter to rescue Discovery, used a ballute to aerobrake into orbit around Jupiter after its initial journey from Earth. In the time following deployment of JPSS-2 in its intended 800km SSO, The Centaur upper stage conducted a second burn to lower its perigee to 525 km. 17 minutes later, it conducted a deorbit burn, lowering its perigee to approximately sea level. After the de-orbit burn, the Centaur was spun up to provide spin stabilization for LOFTID, just under 3 rpm. Immediately after separation, Centaur was de-spun, and maneuvered away for a destructive re-entry. LOFTID survived re-entry, and ejected its data module before deploying parachutes. Both splashed down in the North Pacific to the east of Hawaii. The data module landed approximately 600km east of the Big Island. LOFTID itself splashed down nearby at 7:02am EST. Pad 3E at Vandenberg can now be prepared for Vulcan.
At launch pad 39B this morning, the crew access arm is swinging back into place alongside the Orion capsule atop the SLS moon rocket. NASA is conducting inspections of the Artemis 1 rocket today following Hurricane Nicole. Watch live launch pad views: https://t.co/dxNwInXU1Z pic.twitter.com/mS6bQpeZ6E— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) November 11, 2022 NASA is inspecting Artemis 1 today following Hurricane Nicole blowing through. The inspection will drive whether or not they are still go for the current early Wednesday morning launch window. Targeting Saturday, November 12 for a Falcon 9 launch of the @Intelsat G-31/G-32 mission to orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida. The 120-minute window opens at 11:06 a.m. ET; weather is 90% favorable for liftoff → https://t.co/bJFjLCiTbK— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 11, 2022 Meanwhile, SpaceX is full speed ahead for the dual Intelsat comsat launch still set for Saturday morning at 11:06am EST. Not only that, but they've also penned in Eutelsat 10B for Thursday night, November 17, at 6:33pm EST. And the Emirates Lunar Mission has been confirmed for next Tuesday morning, November 22, at 4:17am EST. This will follow Cargo Dragon CRS-26, which is set for next Monday at 4:15pm EST.
No attempt to land the stage today because of need to have that portion of propellant for enhanced performance of Falcon 9. Liftoff was good, and basically on time.
Ain’t she beaut!We’re marching toward the next launch attempt for #Artemis1. The Wednesday attempt comes at 1:04am with a 2-hour window. Get caught up on all things Artemis here: https://t.co/VX2TgDkMDM pic.twitter.com/lMkeKZU9wu— Stephen Marr (@spacecoast_stve) November 13, 2022 Artemis 1 has been cleared by NASA inspectors following Hurricane Nicole. It is still good for early Wednesday morning at 1:04am EST. The 45th Weather Squadron gives it a 90% chance of weather favorability. ******** The second Vega-C launch is slated for next Thursday at 9:47pm EST. The growing issues with Ariane 6 are not affecting Vega-C, which will at least continue to test its SRM as the first stage of the revamped solid rocket. Vega-C currently has eleven launches penciled in for the 2023 manifest, including launches for South Korea and Taiwan. But the continued delays in Ariane 6 are causing some serious issues. There are still eight flights for Ariane 6 on the 2023 manifest after its debut flight in Q4 2023. There's no way they complete all of them with the timing. With Ariane 5's days numbered, and Soyuz no longer available, that's pushing European business elsewhere. The Euclid spectroscope, which was originally planned for a Soyuz-STB rocket in 2023, was moved to a Falcon 9 rocket.
It has been a weird year for ABL Space Systems since the testing pad fire in January. But they are finally ready to try to get off the ground. The first launch of their RS1 rocket from Pad 3, Kodiak Island, is scheduled for today with a window opening at 5pm EST (2200 UTC, 1pm AKST). It is carrying verification equipment for a launch into SSO. The RS1 rocket has seen a bit of a redesign. Instead of three E1 engines, it will be powered instead by nine E2 engines. This will slice its thrust at liftoff by more than a third, from 143,000 lb-f to 103,000 lb-f. The second stage is still powered by a vacuum-optimized E2 engine. The rocket still has a maximum capacity of 1,350 kg, but that's for the lowest inclination from Pad 48, Kennedy Space Center. That reminds me, their launch sales guide no longer lists the rocket site in Georgia as an option. If this launch succeeds, ABL plans on doing a second test flight from Kodiak Island. Their first launch from Saxavord Spaceport in the Shetland Islands is currently penciled in for Q1 2023. Their Kuiper launches for Amazon are only listed as during 2023.
Off-nominal data was observed during Stage 1 fill at T-30 minutes. Countdown has been scrubbed for the day.— ABL (@ablspacesystems) November 14, 2022 ABL Space Systems saw some data during first stage fueling that they didn't like, so they scrubbed the launch attempt yesterday. They will analyze the data before determining when their next try will be. They could go as soon as today on the same launch window of 5pm EST (2200 UTC, 1pm AKST). This series of launch windows is open through next Monday. ******** NASA managers Monday reviewed the threat posed by hurricane-damaged insulation on the agency’s Artemis moon rocket and cleared the $4.1 billion booster for launch “as is” early Wednesday to kick off a long-delayed test flight to the moon.Full story: https://t.co/qIc7e6yu9m pic.twitter.com/CjCzEosW7T— Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) November 15, 2022 The inspections of Artemis 1 did reveal a line of insulation damage on the shroud currently encapsulating the spacecraft. RTV is essentially a standard silicone gasket. Engineers at NASA reasoned that it would not cause damage to the rocket if it fell off during launch. I'm willing to bet they would not be taking this risk if this were a crewed flight. The launch window opens later tonight at 1:07am EST (0607 UTC). Fueling operations are expected to begin at 3:30pm EST this afternoon. ******** STATIC FIRE! Booster 7 fires up a record amount of Raptor engines! WOW! Hopefully, @elonmusk will let us know how many and if it looked good!https://t.co/h8MPih88be pic.twitter.com/A815Z43OzK— Chris Bergin - NSF (@NASASpaceflight) November 14, 2022 Meanwhile, SpaceX put the Super Heavy rocket through its biggest test yet yesterday as 14 of its 33 engines roared to life in a static fire. Data from the static fire looked good. It was by far SpaceX's biggest test firing ever. Next test is ~20 sec firing with max oxygen fill to test autogenous pressurization, possibly one more static fire, then orbital launch attempt— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 15, 2022 Elon Musk seems to think Starship is close to its orbital flight test. There's still some work to be done. The next test will be 20 seconds long, though how many engines will be fired is not yet known. We may yet get that flight test by the end of the year.
With the adjusted leakage constraints, fast fill of liquid hydrogen on the Space Launch System core stage went just about flawlessly. But a leak in the ground system again popped up during fueling of the ICPS upper stage. A red team was sent out to tighten a valve. Then a network switch failed on the Eastern Test Range, requiring IT intervention to quickly install and configure a new one. In the end, it delayed launch for about 44 minutes. Liftoff for Artemis 1 took place at 1:47:44am EST. It entered an initial orbit of around 1,100 x 20 miles. Perigee was raised to 115 miles with a circularization burn around T+52 minutes at apogee. Trans-lunar injection began around T+1 hour, 27 minutes, and lasted about 18 minutes. Everything about the launch itself looked perfect, as if NASA hadn't stopped doing it for 11 years. The main difference was at SRB separation, when they fell through the exhaust of the four RS-25 engines of the SLS core stage. Unlike the Space Shuttle, where the orbiter's engines are offset away from the SRBs, the RS-25 nozzles of the core stage are right by the SRB nozzles. Now we get into the unknowns. As it stands, Artemis 1 itself appears to be operating well. Its four solar panel wings are all deployed, and have already done several articulation maneuvers. They deployed fully out, then pulled down along the European Service Module and ICPS during TLI, before spreading out again for ICPS separation. Each solar panel wing has a webcam on the end so they can observe the spacecraft and the European Service Module during various phases of the mission. They were able to provide footage of ICPS separation. NASA is planning its post-launch press conference for 5am EST. They also plan on beginning a livestream showing Earth from Artemis 1 as it flies toward the moon at 10am EST. The first trajectory correction maneuver is planned for around 8am EST. Based on the timelines I've heard, the deployment of the cubesats is supposed to take place approximately during the press conference. We'll find out soon just how many of those survived the long delays.
On the initial ride to the Moon, Artemis 1 will fly behind, going nearly 40,000 km further than Apollo 13's current recorded for a crewed spacecraft. After that, it will come back for its powered fly-by at a distance of just under 100 km above the near side. I don't have exact details, but TCM-1 is said to have done well. It lasted about 30 seconds. The Block I European Service Module uses a ton of engines. Its main engine is a single Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-10, which is a repurposed Orbital Maneuvering System engine. The one on this mission's ESM has flown 19 times, with its first mission being STS-41-G in 1984. It's highly likely it's been used on all five orbiters. The first five ESMs will use OMS engines for their main engines. From Artemis 6, the Block II ESM will be introduced, with a new lighter composite frame, and an updated main engine derived from newer versions of the AJ-10 used in the Delta K upper stage. Taking an early launch in the November window, Artemis 1 will have the shortest possible mission at 26 days. Its journey in distant retrograde lunar orbit (DRLO) will only last a week and a half. It is currently planned to splash down on December 11 off San Diego. It would be NASA's furthest east Pacific splashdown.
Amazing, it is a time machine, as well?!? Splashing down four days prior to liftoff. That is some next-generation engineering! Really, I have been ready your updates the last couple of months (never really looked at this thread previously) and I appreciate your posts. Keep up the good work, reporting on the space program.
I really have not been on my game today. I've made worse mistakes in this thread. ******** Due to high winds today and tomorrow, we are targeting our next launch attempt on Thursday 11/17 with a window opening at 1pm AKST (10pm UTC).— ABL (@ablspacesystems) November 15, 2022 The abort of the RS1 rocket launch attempt on Monday was the result of a faulty valve in the pressurization system. It was quickly replaced, but high winds on Kodiak Island precluded launch attempts yesterday and today. ABL is planning to try again tomorrow at the same launch window opening at 5pm EST (1pm AKST).
In other news, NASA is formally modifying its Human Landing System award with SpaceX to exercise Option B, which includes a landing on Artemis 4. https://t.co/i5sgeJzY37— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) November 15, 2022 The day before launching Artemis 1, NASA announced plans to add a lunar landing to Artemis 4 in addition to Artemis 3. The original plan for Artemis 4 was assembly of the Project Artemis Lunar Gateway. But NASA has been quite pleased with SpaceX's progress with Starship. Back in March, they activated "Option B" on their Human Landing System contract which permits SpaceX to develop a second, more upgraded lunar lander version of Starship for a demo after Artemis 3. It is interesting that they are adding this demo even before they've had a chance to test the original Starship HLS. The Artemis 4 HLS will have the capability of docking with the Lunar Gateway, and be able to deliver more payload to the lunar surface. Everything depends on just how soon the actual Super Heavy rocket finally has its orbital test flight. ******** The Deep Space Network is really hoppin' right now. By some miracle, all ten cubesats are alive and operating. But there's one mission that somehow I overlooked among them: a cubesat-size lunar lander. That mission is OMOTENASHI, developed by JAXA. Omotenashi means "hospitality" in Japanese. But it's actually an acronym: "Outstanding MOon exploration TEchnologies demonstrated by NAno Semi-Hard Impactor". While Artemis 1 flies by the Moon on November 21, OMOTENASHI will redirect itself toward the lunar surface with a cold gas thruster. I don't think it's aiming for a particular location. As it nears the surface, it will fire a solid-fuel retrorocket to slow its descent. It will then eject its propulsion systems, and hopefully inflate a landing bag to cushion its landing like the earlier modern Mars rovers. ******** SpaceX might also finally be planning to do two launches from Cape Canaveral within 24 hours at long last. Eutelsat 10B is currently planned from Pad 40 at 9:57pm EST (0257 Monday UTC) Sunday night. And Cargo Dragon CRS-26 is planned to launch from Pad 39A at 4:19pm EST (2119 UTC) Monday afternoon.
It looks like the latest high-resolution imagery from Orion is being uploaded to @NASA_Johnson's Flickr page. And ... woah.https://t.co/bbABUmD5my pic.twitter.com/Cx9KvB7wZM— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) November 21, 2022 Yesterday morning at 7:57am EST, Artemis 1 completed its powered fly-by of the Moon. Its closest approach was 130 km. It is now on its way outbound to what is called a distant retrograde orbit. It's just a much higher version of the orbit Apollo used for its lunar missions. It will permit Artemis to remain in line of sight with Earth during the vast majority of its lunar phase. The next major burn will be next Thursday, currently scheduled for 4:53pm EST, when Artemis 1 will leave DRLO and head to its return powered fly-by. ******** Weather over the weekend pushed SpaceX's Cape Canaveral launches beyond the weekend. Though weather still doesn't look good for today. There is only a 10% chance of launch favorability for both Crew Dragon CRS-26 (3:54pm EDT) and Eutelsat 10B (9:57pm EST). But if they manage to pull it off, the six-hour gap between Cape launches will finally realize a record sought after for a long time. ******** RS1 aborted during ignition at T-1.75s. The vehicle is healthy, and the team is setting up to offload propellant for today. Our next launch window opens on December 7th.— ABL (@ablspacesystems) November 21, 2022 RS1 can't seem to get off the ground. They suffered another launch sequence abort during ignition yesterday, within two seconds of liftoff. Better that than a RUD, I guess. They've burned through this launch window, and their next opportunity isn't until December 7. ******** Launch rehearsal at LC-2? Complete ✅The countdown is on to our first launch from Virginia, carrying a Virginia payload for @HawkEye360. Learn more: https://t.co/mNpRya1Tka📸 @TrevorMahlmann pic.twitter.com/qC1HBTpW3A— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) November 21, 2022 It's about frickin' time. After three years worth of various delays, Rocket Lab is finally ready to conduct its first launch from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The launch, titled "Virginia is for Launch Lovers", is a mission for HawkEye 360 carrying three commercial SIGINT satellites. The launch is planned for December 7. It has a two-hour launch window opening at 1pm EST.
Cargo Dragon CRS-26 did not have good weather for its launch attempt on Tuesday. The ultimate issue was static fields at Kennedy Space Center, though the weather at the drone ship was not great either. It has been delayed to Saturday afternoon at 2:20pm EST. Eutelsat 10B, however, did manage to launch. The latest Starlink launch from Vandenberg SFB has been rescheduled for Tuesday night at 11:25pm EST. It was delayed due to questionable data out of the static fire with Booster B1061.11. It will be the most seasoned first stage launched from Pad 4E. The Emirates Lunar Mission is still planned for early Wednesday morning at 3:39am EST. The next mass rideshare launch for SpaceX, Transporter-6, is currently penciled in for December 6. It has a rather large number of smallsats. Not including dispensers, I count a total of 20 smallsats, and that's before you get to the cubesats. Its booster is not yet known. It could be B1052.8, which is stated to be going on one more solo flight before being reconverted into a Falcon Heavy side booster in preparation for the ViaSat-3 Americas Falcon Heavy launch. That is currently planned for January.