{"id":13781,"date":"2018-05-22T22:26:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T14:26:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rideshare-launch-by-spacex-serves-commercial-and-scientific-customers\/"},"modified":"2018-05-22T22:26:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T14:26:21","slug":"rideshare-launch-by-spacex-serves-commercial-and-scientific-customers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rideshare-launch-by-spacex-serves-commercial-and-scientific-customers\/","title":{"rendered":"Rideshare launch by SpaceX serves commercial and scientific customers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket lifts off Tuesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. Credit: NASA\/Bill Ingalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket powered by a reused first stage climbed into orbit Tuesday from California\u2019s Central Coast, carrying five satellites to upgrade Iridium\u2019s global messaging service and two research craft to study Earth\u2019s water cycle.<\/p>\n

The rideshare mission, arranged between SpaceX, Iridium, and the German research center in charge of launching the Earth science satellites, took off at 12:47:58 p.m. PDT (3:47:58 p.m. EDT; 1947:58 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 4-East at Vandenberg Air Force Base.<\/p>\n

The 229-foot-tall (70-meter) rocket climbed through a mostly sunny midday sky, and a marine cloud layer that threatened to obscure viewing of the launch stayed offshore over the Pacific Ocean.<\/p>\n

The five commercial communications satellites aboard the rocket will add to Iridium\u2019s growing new-generation voice and data relay network, bringing the company\u2019s upgraded fleet up to 55 spacecraft launched since January 2017. The other satellites launched Tuesday are follow-ups to the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, or the GRACE mission, which used two similar spacecraft to measure the tug of gravity around the world from 2002 through 2017.<\/p>\n

Riding 1.7 million pounds of thrust, the Falcon 9 soared south from Vandenberg before jettisoning its first stage booster, the same vehicle the launched for the first time Jan. 7 from Cape Canaveral with the U.S. government\u2019s mysterious Zuma payload.<\/p>\n

Zuma was reportedly lost soon after reaching orbit, when it failed to deploy from the Falcon 9 rocket, a mishap investigators have blamed on spacecraft contractor Northrop Grumman.<\/p>\n

A few seconds later, the rocket\u2019s second stage ignited its single Merlin engine to accelerate into orbit, then the Falcon 9\u2019s payload shroud opened from the nose of the launcher, revealing the Iridium and GRACE-Follow On satellites.<\/p>\n

The upper stage engine completed its first firing around 10 minutes after liftoff, then released the two 1,323-pound (600-kilogram) GRACE-Follow On spacecraft in orbit. The rocket aimed for an orbit around 304 miles (490 kilometers) above Earth, with a track tilted 89 degrees to the equator, and SpaceX reported the Falcon 9 achieved an on-target trajectory.<\/p>\n

Ground controllers in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, near Munich, received the first radio signals from the twin Earth science satellites via a tracking station at McMurdo, Antarctica, confirming both spacecraft were alive and healthy after their arrival in orbit.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Falcon 9\u2019s second stage also sailed over Antarctica, then flew north over the Indian Ocean before reigniting for a brief, eight-second maneuver to raise its altitude to peak at around 370 miles (600 kilometers) and adjust its inclination closer to the orbit used by the Iridium satellites.<\/p>\n

The Iridium spacecraft deployed one-by-one from a dispenser on the forward end of the Falcon 9 second stage, and officials declared success with release of the final satellite at T+plus 1 hour, 12 minutes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a clean sweep again for deployments,\u201d said John Insprucker, Falcon 9 lead engineer at SpaceX, who hosted the company\u2019s live webcast of the mission from Hawthorne, California. \u201cIt\u2019s been a great Falcon 9 day here in Hawthorne and at Vandenberg Air Force Base.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The twin GRACE-Follow On satellite are mounted atop the assembly of five Iridium Next spacecraft before launch on a Falcon 9 rocket. Credit: Iridium\/NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SpaceX did not attempt to land the first stage after Tuesday\u2019s launch, and opted to dispose of the vehicle in the Pacific Ocean. The recycled stage is based on an earlier design that has been discontinued by SpaceX, which debuted a modified \u201cBlock 5\u201d version of the Falcon 9 rocket in a successful launch from Cape Canaveral on May 11.<\/p>\n

But a recovery vessel was dispatched from the Port of Los Angeles into the Pacific Ocean to try to retrieve the fairing, which split off the rocket in two pieces like a clamshell.<\/p>\n

After the launch, SpaceX said the payload fairing halves jettisoned from the Falcon 9 rocket deployed their parachutes and fell into the Pacific. The company\u2019s fairing recovery vessel, \u201cMr. Steven,\u201d was in position in the fairing drop zone, but narrowly missed catching the shroud with its net.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe payload fairings both successfully deployed parachutes, but they landed in the Pacific Ocean,\u201d Insprucker said. \u201cThe fairing recovery ship \u2018Mr. Steven\u2019 came very close, but not quite. We\u2019re going to keep working on that, but meanwhile the second stage went into a great orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n

SpaceX aims eventually recover the fairing halves with a boat, then reuse the structure on future launches, helping mitigate the cost of building a few fairing for every mission. The fairing costs around $6 million per flight, according to SpaceX.<\/p>\n

But dropping the fairing in the ocean contaminates sensitive parts with sea water, making refurbishment more difficult.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s launch was the sixth by SpaceX to build out Iridium\u2019s modernized commercial communications network, replacing aging satellites that have been in space since the late 1990s and early 2000s.<\/p>\n

The Iridium network, comprised of 66 operational satellites spread among six orbital planes, provides uninterrupted global telephone, data relay and tracking services. Each spacecraft carries radio receivers and transmitters, allowing the network to route a signal from a ground user up to a satellite, then from satellite to satellite through space until beaming it back to another terminal at another spot on Earth.<\/p>\n

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Artist\u2019s concept of several Iridium Next satellites, with Iridium\u2019s Block 1 satellite fleet in the background. Credit: Thales Alenia Space<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iridium\u2019s $3 billion upgrade, or \u201ctech refresh\u201d as company chief executive Matt Desch calls it, will improve service available to more than one million subscribers on the satellite firm\u2019s roster. The refresh will also make new offerings available, including high-speed video and broadband relays, global aircraft and ship tracking, and the capability to monitor for emergency beacons from maritime vessels in distress.<\/p>\n

The International Maritime Organization on Monday agreed that the Iridium network meets safety and performance criteria to provide Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, making Iridium the second company to receive such recognition from the international body after Inmarsat.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur strong presence in the world of safety services is a testament to the unique benefits our network can enable,\u201d Desch said in a statement after Tuesday\u2019s launch. \u201cWith every successful launch, we are one step closer to Iridium Next being fully operational, which officially starts a new age of satellite connectivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to safety communications, especially for those operating in the skies or out at sea, having built-in network redundancy and resiliency enabled by our satellite\u2019s cross-links is paramount, especially during times of distress,\u201d Desch said.  \u201cWe recognize this and feel that as the only network covering the entire planet, we have an inherent responsibility to constantly innovate for this critical arena.\u201d<\/p>\n

Going into Tuesday\u2019s mission, Iridium had 47 upgraded satellites in service, with 19 first-generation spacecraft still operational. Three other satellites from launches last year are still drifting to their planned orbital slots, and should be activated for commercial use by August, Desch said.<\/p>\n

Three of the five spacecraft launched Tuesday will replace satellites in Plane 6 of the Iridium constellation in the next few weeks, and other two will begin their lifetimes as spares, according to Desch.<\/p>\n

All five Iridium satellites sent to space Tuesday radioed their health status to engineers on the ground, Desch tweeted.<\/p>\n