Cape Canaveral, Fla. – SpaceX on Thursday (December 17) in the U.S. The spy reconnaissance is ready to launch at the level of the National Reconnaissance Office Fee (NRO), and you can watch the action online.
The flight from Pad 39 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center here in Florida is scheduled to explode, opening at 9 a.m. EST (1400 GMT) during the planned three-hour window. However, the exact time of the liftoff has not yet been announced.
You can start the launch here and on the Space dot homepage, courtesy of SpaceX, about 15 minutes before the liftoff. You will be able to see the launch directly from SpaceX.
Related: In the photo, SpaceX’s first secret U.S. Military satellite launch (and landing)
The mission will mark the 31st launch this year for the SpaceX and its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, as well as the third Falcon 9 to fly a little in a week. Dec In December, SpaceX launched the final launch of the year by ferrying an upgraded cargo dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station, marking the first time, for the first time, two such crafts attached to an orbital outpost there. A few days later, the California-based rocket builder launched a radio satellite into orbit for the Sirius XM.
Now, SpaceX will close the record-setting year with a bang. The company announced that the dubbed NROL-108 contained a rare treat for the mission: a direct Falcon 9 booster landing on Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, as opposed to the usual drone-ship landing here. The sea.
To date, SpaceX has successfully recovered 69 first-stage boosters, 20 of which touch on Terra Ferma. For its 70th, the company’s Falcon 9 will reach one of the company’s landing sites just 9 miles (14 kilometers) from where it took off. SpaceX warned Central Florida residents that they should expect to hear sonic booms as the rocket descends on LJZ-1.
It is likely that local residents will hear one or more sonic booms during the landing attempt, SpaceX officials said in an advisory emailed to the media. “Residents of Braward County will probably hear one or more sonic booms, although what residents experience depends on weather conditions and other factors.”
U.S. Officials with the Air Force’s 45th Weather Squadron said the weather looks good for Thursday’s effort, with a 70% chance of favorable conditions for the launch. The main issues for concern are the possibility of liftoff winds and thick cloud levels.
Related: Space ride (and back) on Falcon 9 in this wonderful video
The star of today’s mission will be one of SpaceX’s frequent flyers – the Falcon 9 first phase known as the B1059. This will mark the fifth start and landing attempt of the booster. Previously, it received missions in exchange for two different dragon cargoes at the International Space Station (CRS-19 in December 2019 and CRS-20 in March this year), launching the Starlink 8 mission in June and most recently SOCOM-1B Earth- in orbit in Argentina on 30 August Observing the satellite.
Thursday’s flight will mark the 102nd overall launch of the Falcon 9 rocket and the 70th first-stage recovery. SpaceX’s drone ship “Cf course I still love” has fallen to one side for this mission, as the booster will constantly try its second touchdown on the ground. (Earlier in August it landed on the LZ-1 after taking the SOCOM-1B into space.) It will be about nine minutes after the touchdown lift.
The company’s other drone ship, “Just Read Instructions”, is heading to Port Canaveral with a total of seven times the number of flyers. That booster, B1049, became the second of seven spacecraft fleets of SpaceX’s P te rocket to make the first voyage of two giant radio broadcast satellites into space for Sirius XM on Sunday (December 13). Another Sirius XM satellite is set to launch sometime next year, and the two are expected to replace already aging satellites in orbit.
One of SpaceX’s net equipped boats, the G.O. Mr. The tree is heading to the recovery zone to wait for today’s launch. It is still unclear whether the carrier will attempt to capture Falcon 9’s falling payload ferring – a protective “nose cone” that surrounds the satellite during launch – or if SpaceX will only be able to pull out two parts of the ocean. (Whether or not an attempt is made to get a catch depends on many factors, including weather and sea conditions in the recovery zone.)
SpaceX has been successful in many attempts to make more use of the Falcon 9, even reusing some ferring on multiple missions. The payload is about 10% of the cost of the rocket, which is about 62 million. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, says reusing the pharynx could save up to 3 million per flight.
The company is re-using payload fairings, and its first refurbished fairings have also been used on a paid customer’s flight. The Sirius XM-7 mission features an excellent half that flew earlier this summer on the Anasis-2 mission, which launched a communications satellite for the South Korean military.
Today’s mission will mark the final opening from Florida for 2020. A total of 31 missions have been launched from the area this year, and 26 of those missions were on SpaceX rockets.
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