CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – SpaceX successfully launched its eleventh mission of the year, launching a next-generation global positioning satellite into space for the United States Space Force.
A shiny white Falcon 9 rocket took to the skies today (June 30) at 4:10 p.m. EDT (2010 GMT), taking off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Today’s launch is part of an ongoing Department of Defense effort to update GPS satellites currently in space. The constellation of ancient GPS satellites was launched approximately 20 years ago and the technology has changed significantly at that time. The particular satellite launched today will replace one of the oldest in orbit.
Built by Lockheed Martin, this is the third such GPS satellite to launch and will join two others already in orbit. SpaceX launched one of those two satellites on a different Falcon 9 rocket in December 2018, and the other satellite launched on the last Delta IV Medium rocket in August 2019.
Related: The US GPS satellite network explained
Called GPS III SV03, the 9,505-pound (4,311-kilogram) satellite is part of a family of satellites known as GPS III, which are designed to be three times more accurate and have up to eight times better anti-interference capabilities than their predecessors. .
The upgraded spacecraft also includes a set of new features. For example, it has the ability to communicate with satellites in other navigation constellations, such as the European Galileo constellation. This allows users to connect to even more satellites in space, allowing for greater precision. The new batch of GPS satellites also has a longer lifespan, allowing them to stay in orbit for longer.
Today’s launch is SpaceX’s first dedicated mission for the U.S. Space Force, which was established in December 2019 by President Donald Trump. Like the Marine Corps functions within the US Navy, the US Space Force is under the umbrella of the US Air Force and works to oversee all operations. space.
The Space Force originally planned to launch this satellite in April, but authorities chose to delay the launch until now. This allowed teams the opportunity to work on procedures that would keep everyone safe during launch preparations while adhering to CDC guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We focus on people, processes, and procedures, as well as facilities (ie, the Lockheed Martin facility in Colorado, where the satellite was built and processed prior to launch),” Col. Edward Byrne, lead leader from Middle Earth Orbit The Space Systems Division at the Space Force Missile and Space Systems Center told reporters during a press call on June 26.
Small spaces and tight working conditions in Colorado were a concern, but the extra time created by the delay allowed the team to implement new procedures and prepare the satellite for launch.
To comply with CDC guidelines and maintain the safety of all personnel, US Space Force officials reduced the number of team members needed to handle the launch, spaced workstations, and installed partitions between Workers.
Here at the Cape, Space Wing 45, the entity that oversees launches along the east coast, has been taking its own precautions. They have ensured that crews rotate between missions, maintaining social distancing practices, implementing temperature controls, and reducing the number of people on consoles. Wing Commander Brig. General Doug Schiess believes that the security protocols practiced in the past three months have been effective.
During the same call, Schiess noted that the 45th Space Wing has monitored several launches during the pandemic, including the first manned launch of the SpaceX Crew Dragon that sent two NASA astronauts into space, and that no one in the 45th Space Wing has become ill. at this point.
“We have been doing this for three months and have done an amazing job,” said Schiess. “We have had several launches during the coronavirus situation and we have not had anyone sick.”
Florida has recently seen a big spike in new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, but Schiess remains optimistic that established procedures will allow launches to continue.
The mission featured a new Falcon 9 rocket, and unlike the first GPS mission launched by SpaceX in 2018, the California-based rocket builder received permission to retrieve the Falcon’s first-stage reinforcement.
A few days before today’s flight, SpaceX deployed its unmanned spacecraft, called Just Read the Instructions, to establish a 394-mile (632-kilometer) camp in the Atlantic Ocean and await the return of the reinforcement.
About nine minutes after takeoff today, the first-stage thruster landed smoothly on the deck of the drone. SpaceX has had, to date, more than 50 successful captures.
The company’s twin fairing hunters, called GO Ms. Tree and GO Ms. Chief, are trying to recover today. The two ships are also stationed in the Atlantic and will retrieve the payload fairings used in today’s mission.
The shell-shaped hardware, which is the nose cone of the rocket, is designed to protect the payload as the rocket travels through the atmosphere. Once the vehicle reaches a specific height, the two halves of the fairing are pulled and return to Earth.
The two pieces represent about 10% of the Falcon’s price, and SpaceX could save up to $ 6 million per flight by taking them out of the ocean (or catching them as they glide toward Earth) and reusing them.
To date, GO Ms. Tree has successfully hooked three fairing pieces when they returned, and SpaceX has flown restored fairings on several missions to date.
SpaceX launched three rockets in June and with the delay of its most recent Starlink mission and July is shaping up to be another busy month for the private space flight company. The next Starlink mission, which will carry two Earth observation satellites for BlackSky, is expected to launch on July 8.
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