Many launches in the next 24 hours, even with some having been scrubbed
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.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
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Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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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.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either. IMPORTANT! If you donate enough to get a book, please email me separately to tell me which book you want and the address to mail it to.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
“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.