Many launches in the next 24 hours, even with some having been scrubbedThe next 24 hours will be one of the most busy launch days in human history, and it will achieve this even though two launches have already been scrubbed and rescheduled.
First the scrubs. Last night SpaceX called off the launch of Intuitive Machiens Nova-C lunar lander, set for shortly after midnight, because of “off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load.” Since the Falcon 9 rocket doesn’t use methane as a fuel, I am puzzled by this. Nonetheless, the company has rescheduled this launch for tonight.
The second scrub was by Japan’s space agency JAXA, which cancelled the second test launch of its new H3 rocket due to weather issues (the first test launch was a failure). It has rescheduled the launch to February 17th.
Even with these scrubs, there are still four launches scheduled in the next 24 hours, listed below with the times all adjusted to Pacific time to give a sense of the pace. The links go to the live streams of each launch.
- 2:30 pm: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of two military satellites from Cape Canaveral
- 4:30 pm: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg
- 7:25 pm: Russian Soyuz-2 launch of Progress freighter to ISS from Kazakhstan
- 9:57 pm: SpaceX launch of Intuitive Machines Nova-C lunar lander from Cape Canaveral
That’s four launches in less than eleven hours from three different spaceports. SpaceX by itself will attempt three launches in one day, something that is unprecedented for a private company.
I think four launches on a single day has been attempted previously, but not achieved. We shall see if SpaceX and Russia make it happen today.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The next 24 hours will be one of the most busy launch days in human history, and it will achieve this even though two launches have already been scrubbed and rescheduled.
First the scrubs. Last night SpaceX called off the launch of Intuitive Machiens Nova-C lunar lander, set for shortly after midnight, because of “off-nominal methane temperatures prior to stepping into methane load.” Since the Falcon 9 rocket doesn’t use methane as a fuel, I am puzzled by this. Nonetheless, the company has rescheduled this launch for tonight.
The second scrub was by Japan’s space agency JAXA, which cancelled the second test launch of its new H3 rocket due to weather issues (the first test launch was a failure). It has rescheduled the launch to February 17th.
Even with these scrubs, there are still four launches scheduled in the next 24 hours, listed below with the times all adjusted to Pacific time to give a sense of the pace. The links go to the live streams of each launch.
- 2:30 pm: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of two military satellites from Cape Canaveral
- 4:30 pm: SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of 22 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg
- 7:25 pm: Russian Soyuz-2 launch of Progress freighter to ISS from Kazakhstan
- 9:57 pm: SpaceX launch of Intuitive Machines Nova-C lunar lander from Cape Canaveral
That’s four launches in less than eleven hours from three different spaceports. SpaceX by itself will attempt three launches in one day, something that is unprecedented for a private company.
I think four launches on a single day has been attempted previously, but not achieved. We shall see if SpaceX and Russia make it happen today.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
“Since the Falcon 9 rocket doesn’t use methane as a fuel, I am puzzled by this. ”
But the lander payload DOES use methane, and LOX. This is the mission for which SpaceX cut a hole in the fairing to allow late propellant loading.
Ray Van Dune: Ah, this explains it. Thank you!
They just cut a hole?
How simple and cost effective.
Sorry, they did not “just cut a hole” – just a figure of speech. Rather, they created an access port of some kind, but I am not familiar with the design! The bottom line is that the propellants for this lander are not hypergolic, suitable for long-term storage, but are more like those of a normal rocket booster, loaded just before launch.
Why was this done? Maybe to develop experience with the use of methane / LOX in the cis-lunar space, with a view toward in situ production on the Moon?
They had to build a bigger door into a fairing for the Cygnus for late load cargo as well. So they are getting ‘used’ to this. I think the bigger deal was running Methane lines up the TEL to connect it.