{"id":24067,"date":"2024-03-18T19:31:06","date_gmt":"2024-03-18T11:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/launch-roundup-two-missions-to-the-iss-including-first-dragon-2-from-slc-40\/"},"modified":"2024-03-18T19:31:06","modified_gmt":"2024-03-18T11:31:06","slug":"launch-roundup-two-missions-to-the-iss-including-first-dragon-2-from-slc-40","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/launch-roundup-two-missions-to-the-iss-including-first-dragon-2-from-slc-40\/","title":{"rendered":"Launch Roundup: two missions to the ISS, including first Dragon 2 from SLC-40"},"content":{"rendered":"

SpaceX is preparing to launch three Falcon 9s, including two Starlink missions. Additionally, launching this week are two Chinese rockets, an Electron, and a crewed Soyuz.<\/p>\n

SpaceX will continue to strive for a record-breaking year by launching from all three of its Falcon 9 launch pads this week, which will take its launch total to 10 for March, with several days remaining. This week will also see the first launch of a SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This launch will be the first to make use of the newly added crew access arm as the CRS-30 mission heads to the International Space Station (ISS).<\/p>\n

China will launch a relay satellite and a pair of navigation technology experimental satellites to lunar orbit to support future missions. This will be followed the next day by a launch of several Earth observation satellites.<\/p>\n

Russia will launch a crew to the ISS, and Rocket Lab will launch a classified payload.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

SpaceX Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 7-16<\/p>\n

SpaceX launched 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites to a 53-degree inclination orbit on a southeastern trajectory, with an initial orbit of 305 by 314 kilometers. The launch took place on Monday, March 18, at 7:28 PM PDT (02:28 UTC on March 19) from Space Launch Complex 4E, at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California. This was SpaceX\u2019s tenth launch from Vandenberg this year.<\/p>\n

The booster, B1075, landed successfully on SpaceX\u2019s autonomous spaceport drone ship Of Course I Still Love You, <\/i>becoming the 30th successful recovery since the loss of B1058 in stormy seas in late December last year. This was the booster\u2019s tenth flight, and brings SpaceX\u2019s tally of active Falcon 9 cores with ten or more flights to 11.<\/p>\n

Aerospace & Defense<\/path>Space Shuttle models<\/path>Aerospace industry analysis<\/path>\n

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Speculation following this launch suggests that there may have been two further classified payloads aboard this flight, possibly two of the recently announced Star Shield satellites. While there has been no official confirmation, there are some indications, for example from Celestrak, that this is indeed, the case.<\/p>\n

Chang Zheng 8 | Queqiao-2 Tiandu-1 & 2<\/p>\n

China launched its Queqiao-2 relay satellite on a Chang Zheng 8 Yao-3 on March 20, at 00:31 UTC from LC-201 at the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan Province. The payloads are reported to have been deployed. The antenna and solar array on Queqiao-2 have been deployed successfully, and the spacecraft is said to be on a nominal lunar transfer trajectory.<\/p>\n

Larger and more capable than its predecessor the Queqiao-2 is said to carry science payloads including a very-long-baseline interferometry system array neutral atom imager, and a camera to capture extreme ultraviolet radiation.<\/p>\n

\"Booster\"<\/p>\n

Long March 8 on the pad. (Credit: CASC)<\/p>\n

With a mass of around 1,200 kilograms and a 4.2-meter antenna, the relay satellite has an expected lifespan of at least eight years. It will be sent into an inclined elliptical 24-hour lunar orbit that will support the Chang\u2019e-6 lunar far-side sample return mission and will also provide relay communications for the Chang\u2019e 7 and 8 missions, for which its orbit will be adjusted to 12 hours.<\/p>\n

Also sharing a ride are a pair of navigation technology experimental satellites from the Deep Space Exploration Laboratory. Named after the Huangshan Mountains\u2019 Tiandu Peak, the Tiandu-1 and Tiandu-2 satellites have a mass of 61 and 15 kilograms respectively.<\/p>\n

The pair will fly in formation in a lunar orbit to verify the calibration of the navigation system for high-precision orbit determination, using inter-satellite ranging methods. They will also perform other communications and signal routing activities, and the data will inform the development and implementation of the planned Queqiao Communication and Remote Constellation System.<\/p>\n

Long March 2D\/YX-3 | Yunhai-2 Group 2<\/p>\n

A Long March 2D was launched carrying the Yunhai-2 Group 2 Earth observation satellite to orbit on March 21, at 05:27 UTC. Launching from Launch Area 4, Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China, this satellite is part of the second Group, following several Group 1 launches over the past five years.<\/p>\n

The launcher has previously flown 85 times since 1992 and this was China\u2019s 13th orbital launch of 2024.<\/p>\n

Rocket Lab Electron | NROL-123 Live and Let Fly<\/i><\/p>\n

This mission will be Rocket Lab\u2019s first launch from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). This follows four successful launches from New Zealand for the agency.<\/p>\n

Originally targeting Thursday, March 21, 2:40 AM EDT (06:40 UTC), the countdown entered a long hold, just over four minutes before this time. Lift-off took place at 3:25 AM EDT (07:25 UTC).<\/p>\n