Earth’s second moon will make a close approach to the planet next week before drifting off into space, never to be seen again.
“What second moon,” you ask? Astronomers call it 2020 SO – a small object that dropped into Earth’s orbit about halfway between our planet and the moon in September 2020.
Temporary satellites like these are known as minimoons, though calling it a moon is a bit deceptive in this case; in December 2020, NASA researchers learned that the object isn’t a space rock at all, but rather the remains of a 1960s rocket booster involved in the American Surveyor moon missions.
This non-moon minimoon made its closest approach to Earth on Dec. 1 (the day before NASA identified it as the long-lost booster), but it’s coming back for one more victory lap, according to EarthSky.org.
Minimoon 2020 SO will make a final close approach to Earth on Tuesday (Feb. 2) at roughly 140,000 miles (220,000 kilometers) from Earth, or 58 percent of the way between Earth and the moon.
Related: The 15 weirdest galaxies in our universe
The booster will drift away after that, leaving Earth’s orbit entirely by March 2021, according to EarthSky. After that, the former minimoon will be just another object orbiting the sun. The Virtual Telescope Project in Rome will host an online farewell to the object on the night of Feb. 1.
NASA learned that the object has made several close approaches to Earth over the decades, even coming relatively near in 1966 – the year that the agency launched its Surveyor 2 lunar probe on the back of a Centaur rocket booster.
That gave scientists their first big clue that 2020 SO was man-made; they confirmed it after comparing the object’s chemical makeup with that of another rocket booster, which has been in orbit since 1971.
Godspeed, minimoon 2020 SO. We built you. We abandoned you. And now, you abandon us.
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This article was originally published by Live Science. Read the original article here.
Female physicist invents new fusion rocket that could take the first humans to Mars 10 TIMES faster than space-proven thrusters
A new fusion rocket concept could one day take humans to Mars
It uses magnetic fields to shoot plasma particles out of the rocket
Current space-proven fusion rockets use electric fields to propel the particles
The new design lets scientists tailor the amount of thrust for a mission
By Stacy Liberatore For Dailymail.com
Published: | Updated:
Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi has invented a new fusion rocket that could one day take humans to Mars
Dr. Fatima Ebrahimi, who works for the US Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), has invented a new fusion rocket that could one day take humans to Mars.
The device uses magnetic fields to shoot plasma particles from the back of the rocket and propel the craft through space.
Using magnetic fields allows scientists to tailor the amount of thrust for a particular mission and astronauts change the amount of thrust while piloting to distant worlds.
Ebrahimi’s innovation would also take space fairing heroes to the Red Planet 10 times faster than current rocket thrusters that use electric fields to propel the particles.
‘I’ve been cooking this concept for a while,’ said Ebrahimi.
‘I had the idea in 2017 while sitting on a deck and thinking about the similarities between a car’s exhaust and the high-velocity exhaust particles.’
‘During its operation, this tokamak produces magnetic bubbles called plasmoids that move at around 20 kilometers per second, which seemed to me a lot like thrust.’
Fusion is the power that drives the sun and stars, and combines light elements in the form of plasma.
The device uses magnetic fields to shoot plasma particles from the back of the rocket and propel the craft through space
Plasma is the hot, charged state of matter composed of free electrons and atomic nuclei that represents 99 percent of the visible universe – and is capable of generating massive amounts of energy.
Scientists have been working around the clock to replicate fusion in a lab with the hopes of harnessing its power to produce electricity for rockets traveling through deep space.
Current plasma thrusters that use electric fields to propel the particles can only produce low specific impulse, or speed.
But computer simulations performed on PPPL computers and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, California, showed that the new plasma thruster concept can generate exhaust with velocities of hundreds of kilometers per second, 10 times faster than those of other thrusters.
That faster velocity at the beginning of a spacecraft’s journey could bring the outer planets within reach of astronauts, Ebrahimi said.
‘Long-distance travel takes months or years because the specific impulse of chemical rocket engines is very low, so the craft takes a while to get up to speed,’ she said.
Using magnetic fields allows scientists to tailor the amount of thrust for a particular mission and astronauts change the amount of thrust while piloting to distant worlds.
‘But if we make thrusters based on magnetic reconnection, then we could conceivably complete long-distance missions in a shorter period of time.’
Although using fusion to power rockets is not a new concept, Ebrahimi’s thruster differ from leading devices in three ways.
The first is that changing the strength of the magnetic fields can increase or decrease the amount of thrust, which will allow better maneuvering through the dark abyss that is space.
‘By using more electromagnets and more magnetic fields, you can in effect turn a knob to fine-tune the velocity,’ Ebrahimi said.
Second, the new thruster produces movement by ejecting both plasma particles and magnetic bubbles known as plasmoids.
The plasmoids add power to the propulsion and no other thruster concept incorporates them.
However, the last difference between Ebrahimi’s concept and other ones is that hers uses magnetic fields to shoot particles of plasma out from the back of the rocket – space-proven devices using electric fields.
Using magnetic fields may be a game changer, as It allows scientists to tailor the amount of thrust for a particular mission.
‘While other thrusters require heavy gas, made of atoms like xenon, in this concept you can use any type of gas you want,’ Ebrahimi said. Scientists might prefer light gas in some cases because the smaller atoms can get moving more quickly.
Enlarge / Northrop Grumman conducted a validation test of its GEM 63XL rocket motor on Jan. 21 at its Promontory, Utah, facility.
Northrop Grumman
Welcome to Edition 3.31 of the Rocket Report! Most of the news this week has happened with bigger rockets, with an especially interesting bit concerning the Falcon Heavy rocket and NASA’s Europa Clipper that’s worth checking out. It’s also exciting to see NASA and Boeing move the launch date for Starliner’s second test flight forward.
As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don’t want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.
Firefly seeks to raise additional funding. Firefly Aerospace said this week it is looking to raise $350 million to scale up production and work on a new, larger vehicle, SpaceNews reports. Speaking during a webinar on Tuesday about investment in the space industry, Firefly CEO Tom Markusic said the funding would support its long-term growth as it brings the Alpha rocket into service while the company develops a medium-class launch vehicle named Beta.
Betting on growth … “In the next five years,” he said, “we want to take Firefly from a $1 billion company when we go out and fly Alpha and the SUV to, in about five years, being on the order of a $10 billion company.” The SUV to which Markusic was referring is an upper stage called the Space Utility Vehicle that can serve as a space tug. The Alpha rocket is due to make its debut in a few weeks, and Beta could make its debut as early as 2024, Markusic said. (submitted by BH and Ken the Bin)
Virgin Orbit nabs commercial launch contract. Fresh off the first successful flight of its LauncherOne rocket, Virgin Orbit announced on Monday that it has been selected by the Dutch space-engineering company Innovative Solutions in Space to launch the Royal Netherlands Air Force’s first-ever satellite, a 6U CubeSat called BRIK-II.
A ride-share mission … Currently scheduled to launch in 2021, BRIK-II will fly as a ride-share payload on an upcoming LauncherOne mission. Virgin Orbit is working via its subsidiary, VOX Space, to add payloads to this mission from the US Department of Defense’s Space Test Program. The mission will fly from Mojave Air & Space Port in California. (submitted by NotYourUsername, platykurtic, and Ken the Bin)
Starliner launch date moves left. NASA said this week that it and Boeing are now targeting no earlier than Thursday, March 25, for the launch of Starliner’s second uncrewed flight test as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. This is four days earlier than the previous date NASA announced, and it is due to the changing availability of an Atlas V rocket.
Next rocket up … Also this week, United Launch Alliance announced that it has delayed the launch of the STP-3 mission for the US Space Force “to enable the customer to evaluate the launch readiness of the STP Satellite-6 spacecraft.” That mission had been due to launch before Starliner, but its delay now means ULA can focus on Boeing’s test flight. (submitted by Ken the Bin and platykurtic)
Crew named for first fully private orbital crew launch. The crew of the first entirely private orbital space mission will include the second-oldest person to launch into space, the second Israeli in space, the 11th Canadian to fly into space, and the first former NASA astronaut to return to the International Space Station, CollectSpace reports. Houston-based Axiom Space is organizing the mission.
Launch within a year … Slated to launch on a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft are: Larry Connor, an American real estate and technology entrepreneur; Eytan Stibbe, a businessman and former Israeli fighter pilot; Mark Pathy, a Canadian investor and philanthropist; and Michael Lopez-Alegria, a retired NASA astronaut. This Ax-1 mission could launch as soon as January 2022. (submitted by Ken the Bin and Tfarog04)
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Japan moves into next phase of H3 rocket testing. The core stage of the country’s next-generation launcher, H3, will be transported to its launch site at Tanegashima Space center for a series of tests beginning in February. A wet dress rehearsal is planned for March, when the launcher will be loaded with cryogenic propellant, simulating the work leading up to a launch, SpaceNews reports.
No launch date yet … These are hopeful signs for the rocket originally expected to launch in 2020, but which had to overcome problems with its new LE-9 main engine. However, no target launch date has yet been picked (or at least been made public). JAXA says the launch date of the first H3 rocket will be “decided after coordination with the development status of the onboard satellite and related organizations.” (submitted by Ken the Bin and platykurtic)
Falcon 9 launches record number of satellites. On Sunday, SpaceX launched its first dedicated ride-share mission, named Transporter-1, aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. With this launch of 143 total satellites, SpaceX surpassed the previous record holder for most satellites launched in a single mission, set by India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in 2017, Ars reports.
How popular is it? … SpaceX has not disclosed many details about the popularity of its ride-share program or the number of payloads booked on future launches. However, several customers have said they were surprised by the cost and speed of the service SpaceX offered. The company plans to launch a couple of these ride-share missions per year on the Falcon 9 rocket.
NASA solicits information on Clipper commercial launch. NASA has posted a solicitation for a commercial launch vehicle to send its Clipper spacecraft to Jupiter’s moon Europa. “The launch vehicle shall deliver a minimum 6,065 kg Europa Clipper spacecraft with Mars-Earth-Gravity-Assist trajectory characteristics,” the solicitation states. SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket is the only available commercial rocket capable of this trajectory. Were the Delta IV Heavy booster to be used, it would need to perform a Venus flyby, necessitating additional thermal protection for Clipper.
So why not just award the contract to SpaceX? … For years, Congress mandated that Clipper launch on the Space Launch System rocket. However, recent wind tunnel tests found that the torsional vibration the SLS boosters would induce is very high and would necessitate a substantial rework of the spacecraft. So Congress agreed to allow the mission to move to a private rocket. However, because some in Congress are not the biggest fans of SpaceX, they wanted NASA to open up the competition to rockets not yet flying, including Vulcan and New Glenn. In response to a question on Twitter, United Launch Alliance’s Tory Bruno declined to say whether a base-model Vulcan could complete the trajectory NASA wants. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Trump leaves Biden with a rocket dilemma. Only two years have passed since then-Vice President Mike Pence offered this tough love for SLS engineers at NASA: “If American industry can provide critical commercial services without government development, then we’ll buy them. And if commercial rockets are the only way to get American astronauts to the Moon in the next five years, then commercial rockets it will be.”
Well, maybe not … Today, the former vice president’s ambitious 2024 goal of landing on the Moon has fallen out of reach. Pence has left office. And of course, the SLS rocket did not launch in 2020. Now, it’s virtually certain to not launch before 2022. So what comes next? This Ars article looks at what may be coming for NASA and the SLS rocket it is building to send humans back to the Moon.
SpaceX scrubs Thursday Starship launch attempt. SpaceX had been gearing up to launch its SN9 prototype Thursday, but a little before 11am local time, the “Temporary Flight Restrictions” for the day’s Starship launch were canceled. Before the scrub, engineers and technicians had been preparing the vehicle for a launch. Local residents were also evacuated.
Elon not happy … The launch appears to have been delayed because the FAA did not grant final approval for the 10km launch attempt. SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted about the FAA, saying, “Their rules are meant for a handful of expendable launches per year from a few government facilities. Under those rules, humanity will never get to Mars.” Temporary Flight Restrictions are also in place for Friday, which is now the earliest possible time the vehicle could take flight. Weather should be more benign for SN9 on Friday.
Space Force ends deals with Northrop, Blue Origin. At the end of 2020, the US Space Force officially terminated launch-technology partnerships signed in October 2018 with Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman, SpaceNews reports. These were six-year public-private partnerships where both the government and the contractors agreed to invest in rocket development and infrastructure required to compete in the National Security Space Launch program.
Not a great deal? … The deals with Northrop and Blue Origin were ended because neither was selected for the program. From October 2018 through December 2020, Blue Origin was paid $255.5 million. The original six-year agreement was worth $500 million. Northrop Grumman got $531.7 million over that same period, nearly two-thirds of the LSA’s total value of $792 million. In return for the investment, the Space Force will get limited rights to data and hardware the companies developed under the agreements.
Northrop conducts rocket-motor validation test. On January 21, Northrop Grumman said it conducted a validation ground test of an extended-length, 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor in Promontory, Utah. This variation of the company’s GEM 63 strap-on booster was developed in partnership with United Launch Alliance to provide additional lift capability to the Vulcan Centaur rocket.
Ready for a rocket … The GEM 63XL motor fired for approximately 90 seconds, producing nearly 449,000 pounds of thrust to validate the performance capability of the motor design. Additionally, the test firing verified the motor’s internal insulation, propellant grain, ballistics, and nozzle in a hot-conditioned environment. (submitted by Ken the Bin)
Next three launches
Jan. 31: Falcon 9 | Starlink-18 | Kennedy Space Center, Fla. | 12:00 UTC
SpaceX shared this scenic view of a Falcon 9 awaiting launch.
SpaceX
SpaceX lifted a record-breaking number of satellites in a single payload when its Transporter-1 ride-share mission blasted off from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET) on Sunday morning.
The payload for this space equivalent of an Uber to orbit includes a cornucopia of small satellites from government and commercial entities, along with 10 of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband satellites. In total, the company says there are 143 little spacecraft aboard, which it claims to be a record.
About nine minutes after boosting the payload and second stage on their way to space, the first-stage booster returned for a pinpoint landing on the SpaceX droneship Of Course I Still Love You in the Atlantic.
In the weeks leading up to launch there was some last-minute shifting around after two DARPA satellites were accidentally damaged earlier this month at a processing facility. The Starlink satellites were also a last-minute addition. The payload includes several small spacecraft from Nanoracks and more from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the US Department of Defense and many others.
The launch was originally scheduled for December but was been postponed a handful of times, including from Saturday, when weather pushed it back to Sunday.
From the lab to your inbox. Get the latest science stories from CNET every week.
The Falcon 9 booster made its fifth flight and landing of its career. The most we’ve seen from a Falcon 9 so far is eight flights.
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The mission, dubbed Transporter-1, carried 10 satellites for SpaceX’s Starlink internet network, and more than 130 satellites for a variety of customers including Planet, which operates a constellation of Earth-imaging satellites, and ICEYE, which develops small radar satellites for tracking hazardous ice.
SpaceX’s Transporter-1 mission was the first in new rideshare program that SpaceX announced in 2019. The company said at the time it will dedicate “regularly scheduled” launches of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket to carrying large batches of small satellites, or “smallsats,” rather than focusing on one large, primary payload.
Smallsats have seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past few years. They range in size from as small as a smartphone to as large as a kitchen refrigerator. And as they’ve grown more advanced, hoards of businesses have entered the market promising to deliver services using new smallsat technologies.
Typically, smallsats reach orbit by tagging along with larger, more expensive satellites, and the waiting list can be long and unpredictable. But there’s been a major push in the launch industry to cater directly to the booming smallsat market. Dozens of new rocket companies are promising to build scaled-down rockets that can provide quick and easy launches for smallsats. Two such companies, Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit, have successfully sent their downsized rockets to orbit and begun commercial operations.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets are much larger than Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit’s rockets, and they’re typically used to launch hefty communications or spy satellites or Dragon spacecraft, which ferry astronauts and cargo to and from the International Space Station.
Deciding to dedicate additional missions just to launching batches of smallsats is a company first, and it’s a sign of how much interest in the industry has grown.
As the number of devices in orbit grows, however, experts are becoming increasingly concerned about congestion. Satellites have collided in orbit before, and though such incidents don’t post much of a threat to people on the ground, the debris from the crash can stay in orbit for years or decades.
SpaceX shared this scenic view of a Falcon 9 awaiting launch.
SpaceX
SpaceX will transform one of its Falcon 9 rockets into the space equivalent of a crowded Uber when it launches its Transporter-1 ride-share mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida as soon as Sunday. The payload for this mission includes a cornucopia of small satellites from government and commercial entities, along with 10 of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband satellites.
We learned Thursday that the cargo will include 48 SuperDove satellites for Planet Labs, bringing the total to a record-breaking 133 satellites in a single launch.
Due to unfavorable weather, we are standing down from today’s launch; the team will continue with the countdown until T-30 seconds for data collection. Another launch attempt is available tomorrow, January 24 with a 22-minute window opening at 10:00 a.m. EST
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 23, 2021
SpaceX has confirmed the total number of satellites in the ride-share payload. There was some last-minute shifting around after two DARPA satellites were accidentally damaged earlier this month at a processing facility. The Starlink satellites were also a last-minute addition. The payload includes several small spacecraft from Nanoracks and more from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the US Department of Defense and many others.
The launch was originally scheduled for December, but has been postponed a handful of times, including from Saturday, when weather pushed it back to Sunday.
From the lab to your inbox. Get the latest science stories from CNET every week.
The Falcon 9 booster will be making its fifth flight and is expected to land on a droneship stationed in the Atlantic not long after flight. SpaceX is also likely to attempt to recover the fairing, or nose cone, a move that’s becoming a more routine part of each mission.
The launch is set for as early as 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET) with a 22-minute launch window. The entire mission will be livestreamed as usual by SpaceX. You can follow along below starting about 10 minutes before launch.
Follow CNET’s 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.
SpaceX’s attempt to launch a record 143 satellites on a single Falcon 9 rocket was stopped Saturday due to poor weather conditions.
“Due to unfavorable weather, we are standing down from today’s launch,” the Elon Musk-owned company said in a tweet.
NASA TEST FOR ‘MOST POWERFUL ROCKET IN THE WORLD’ HAS COMPONENT FAILURE
“Another launch attempt is available tomorrow, January 24 with a 22-minute window opening at 10:00 a.m. EST,” SpaceX wrote.
According to Ars Technica, the weather “violated the electrical field rule for a safe launch.”
SpaceX had been scheduled to launch from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday morning at approximately 9:40 a.m. ET.
The launch will be the fifth flight for SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first-stage booster, but the team’s first mission of a rideshare program, carrying 10 Starlink internet satellites and 133 other small satellites.
In its rideshare program, SpaceX allows small satellite operators to book a fraction of a payload on a Falcon 9 launch.
SpaceX production supervisor Andy Tran said the mission will break the record for most satellites deployed from a single rocket.
Tech Crunch reported Saturday that the previous record was from the Indian Space Research Organization’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-C37 launch in February 2017.
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SpaceX has seen success over the past year, including the flawless launch of the company’s first-ever crewed launch to the International Space Station
SpaceX shared this scenic view of a Falcon 9 awaiting launch.
SpaceX
SpaceX will transform one of its Falcon 9 rockets into the space equivalent of a crowded Uber when it launches its Transporter-1 ride-share mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida as soon as Sunday. The payload for this mission includes a cornucopia of small satellites from government and commercial entities, along with 10 of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband satellites.
We learned Thursday that the cargo will include 48 SuperDove satellites for Planet Labs, bringing the total to a record-breaking 133 satellites in a single launch.
Due to unfavorable weather, we are standing down from today’s launch; the team will continue with the countdown until T-30 seconds for data collection. Another launch attempt is available tomorrow, January 24 with a 22-minute window opening at 10:00 a.m. EST
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) January 23, 2021
SpaceX has confirmed the total number of satellites in the ride-share payload. There was some last-minute shifting around after two DARPA satellites were accidentally damaged earlier this month at a processing facility. The Starlink satellites were also a last-minute addition. The payload includes several small spacecraft from Nanoracks and more from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the US Department of Defense and many others.
The launch was originally scheduled for December, but has been postponed a handful of times, including from Saturday, when weather pushed it back to Sunday.
From the lab to your inbox. Get the latest science stories from CNET every week.
The Falcon 9 booster will be making its fifth flight and is expected to land on a droneship stationed in the Atlantic not long after flight. SpaceX is also likely to attempt to recover the fairing, or nose cone, a move that’s becoming a more routine part of each mission.
The launch is set for as early as 7 a.m. PT (10 a.m. ET) with a 22-minute launch window. The entire mission will be livestreamed as usual by SpaceX. You can follow along below starting about 10 minutes before launch.
Follow CNET’s 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.
Bad weather forced SpaceX to call off plans for launching a record 143 small satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket Saturday.
The team was told to recycle for another attempt Sunday at 10 a.m. EST when forecasters predicted a 70% chance of acceptable conditions.
Bad weather across Cape Canaveral forced SpaceX to order a 24-hour delay for the launch of a record 143 small satellites aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. The team will try again Sunday.
SpaceX webcast
The scores of satellites atop the Falcon 9 are the most ever scheduled for launch by a single rocket, eclipsing the previous 104-satellite mark set by India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in February 2017.
The mission, known as Transporter 1, is SpaceX’s first dedicated rideshare flight in a program intended to provide low-cost access to space for small satellites operators that otherwise might have problems hitching rides aboard rockets carrying larger, higher-priority satellites.
“Excited about offering low-cost access to orbit for small companies!” SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted Friday.
Launching many small satellites for a wide range of customers tomorrow. Excited about offering low-cost access to orbit for small companies! https://t.co/NrXmBML747
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 22, 2021
SpaceX charges a relatively low $1 million to launch a 440-pound satellite and $5,000 for every 2.2 pounds above that base level. The company says Transporter missions will be carried out every four months or so as required.
The Transporter 1 flight highlights an on-going debate in the aerospace community about the need for revamped regulations governing space traffic management as more and more small satellite populate low-Earth orbit. Among the concerns: the threat of collisions that could generate clouds of debris and pose threats to other spacecraft.
“Given the recent increase in non-traditional commercial space operations, including satellite servicing, space tourism and the deployment of large numbers of satellites to provide worldwide internet access, updates to the existing roles and responsibilities may be appropriate,” NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel wrote in a recent report.
“As things stand today, there are no clear lines of authority for directing coherence among the many entities that operate in space.”
SpaceX shared this scenic view of a Falcon 9 awaiting launch.
SpaceX
SpaceX will transform one of its Falcon 9 rockets into the space equivalent of a crowded Uber when it launches its Transporter-1 ride-share mission from Cape Canaveral in Florida as soon as Saturday.
The payload for this mission includes a cornucopia of small satellites from government and commercial entities, along with 10 of SpaceX’s own Starlink broadband satellites.
We learned Thursday that the cargo will include 48 SuperDove satellites for Planet Labs, reportedly bringing the total to a record-breaking 133 satellites in a single launch.
SpaceX itself has not yet confirmed the official number of satellites in the ride-share payload. There’s been some last-minute shifting around after two DARPA satellites were accidentally damaged earlier this month at a processing facility. The Starlink satellites were also a last-minute addition. The payload includes several small spacecraft from Nanoracks and more from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the US Department of Defense and many others.
The launch was originally scheduled for December, but has been postponed a handful of times.
From the lab to your inbox. Get the latest science stories from CNET every week.
The Falcon 9 booster will be making its fifth flight and is expected to land on a droneship stationed in the Atlantic not long after flight. SpaceX is also likely to attempt to recover the fairing, or nose cone, a move that’s becoming a more routine part of each mission.
The launch is set for as early as 6:40 a.m. PT (9:40 a.m. ET). The entire mission will be livestreamed as usual by SpaceX. You can follow along below starting about ten minutes before launch.
Follow CNET’s 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.
