{"id":38338,"date":"2018-08-01T23:48:15","date_gmt":"2018-08-01T15:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/saocom-1a-ships-to-vandenberg-as-falcon-9-prepares-for-the-first-west-coast-rtls\/"},"modified":"2018-08-01T23:48:15","modified_gmt":"2018-08-01T15:48:15","slug":"saocom-1a-ships-to-vandenberg-as-falcon-9-prepares-for-the-first-west-coast-rtls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/saocom-1a-ships-to-vandenberg-as-falcon-9-prepares-for-the-first-west-coast-rtls\/","title":{"rendered":"SAOCOM 1A ships to Vandenberg as Falcon 9 prepares for the first west coast RTLS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SAOCOM 1A \u2013 the Argentinian Earth observation satellite \u2013 has shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base ahead of launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The mission will be the first on the west coast to see a Falcon 9 first stage perform an RTLS (Return to Launch Site) recovery.\n<\/p>\n<p><b>SAOCOM:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>SAOCOM (Sat\u00e9lite Argentino de Observaci\u00f3n COn Microondas) is a mission by the Argentine Space Agency CONAE. Initially, two nearly identical spacecraft named SAOCOM 1A and SAOCOM 1B are set to be launched. 1A will launch first with 1B launching approximately a year later.<\/p>\n<p>The purpose of the mission is to use Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to perform Earth observations with the primary goal of mitigating the effects of natural disasters.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=nextspaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1024312459774124032&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2018%2F08%2Fsaocom-1a-ships-vandenberg-falcon-9-first-west-coast-rtls%2F&amp;sessionId=cdaf72c0fd61c4d599f828a352c3d98f6ad82a0d&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"1024312459774124032\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783498513195519417=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">El Antonov 124 es este avi\u00f3n que ves en el video. Parte ma\u00f1ana 1 de agosto a las 7.30 de la ma\u00f1ana llevando al #SAOCOM a California, a la Base Vanderberg, donde se ultimar\u00e1n detalles previo a su lanzamiento en unas semanas. pic.twitter.com\/1GQ9uyeFU1<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnolog\u00eda e Innovaci\u00f3n (@ciencia_ar) July 31, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>On August 1st, SAOCOM 1A shipped from Argentina to Vandenberg Air Force Base ahead of the first launch \u2013 tentatively scheduled for mid-September.<\/p>\n<p>NASASpaceflight.com interviewed Sonia Botta, a thermal control systems engineer at the University of La Plata. According to Botta, the University works \u201cas a subcontractor for the Argentine Space Agency (CONAE).\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the SAOCOM satellite, we are working with [CONAE] on the thermal analysis and thermal design of the SAR antenna \u2013 the huge rectangular antenna which SAOCOM has. It is the main instrument.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Space tourism guides<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>Astronomy<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>SpaceX launch tickets<path d=\"M7.59009 18.59L9.00009 20L17.0001 12L9.00009 4L7.59009 5.41L14.1701 12\" style=\"animation: initial !important; background: initial !important; border: 0px !important; box-shadow: none !important; color: inherit !important; cursor: inherit !important; direction: inherit !important; display: inline !important; fill: currentcolor !important; filter: initial !important; float: none !important; margin: 0px !important; opacity: initial !important; outline: 0px !important; overflow: initial !important; padding: 0px !important; stroke: initial !important; transform: initial !important; vertical-align: initial !important; visibility: inherit !important;\"><\/path>\n<p>     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n<p>One of the unique aspects of the SAOCOM spacecraft is that the SAR antennas operate in L-band as opposed to the more traditional X-band. A challenge with L-band is that the temperature has to be evenly distributed across the antenna for the instrument to function correctly. <\/p>\n<p>As Botta explained, \u201cYou need to be really precise. L-band is a frequency that is hard to work from space and that makes this special. The antenna has been tested for flatness in the most extreme conditions in space.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-57461\" class=\"size-full wp-image-57461\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Di5JRNqX0AAZIRc.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Di5JRNqX0AAZIRc.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Di5JRNqX0AAZIRc-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Di5JRNqX0AAZIRc-525x350.jpg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Di5JRNqX0AAZIRc-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Di5JRNqX0AAZIRc-1170x780.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Di5JRNqX0AAZIRc-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Di5JRNqX0AAZIRc-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-57461\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">SAOCOM 1A preparing to be shipped to Vandenberg. Credit: CONAE<\/p>\n<p>In terms of how the spacecraft manages its temperature, \u201calmost everything works with passive control systems. There are multilayer insulation blankets. Then, you have paint thermal coatings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou will see that the radar is white on one side and on the other side everything is insulated. What you get from this is that you don\u2019t lose heat in an unbalanced way. You are absorbing heat from one side and losing heat from one side, but in the most uniform way possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Active heating is also used to keep the electronics warm as SAR can perform observations in both day and night. However, the active systems have to be efficient in order to allow the science to continue. According to Botta, \u201cyou always want to give them the least power necessary, because otherwise you need bigger solar panels or a bigger battery and that\u2019s weight that you are losing for instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is really a balance between radiating heat in the hot conditions and keeping warm in the cold conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By using L-band instead of X-band, SAOCOM will be better equipped to conduct science on larger objects. X-band, on the other hand, is better suited for analyzing fine details.<\/p>\n<p>Through a collaboration between CONAE and the Italian Space Agency, data from both X-band and L-band satellites will be utilized to perform science. The partnership \u2013 called SIASGE (Sistema Italo Argentino de Sat\u00e9lites para la Gesti\u00f3n de Emergencias) \u2013 is an agreement between the two space agencies to work together for emergency management by utilizing the Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation and the Argentinian SAOCOM constellation.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-57460\" class=\"size-full wp-image-57460\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/COSMO.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2235\" height=\"1728\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/COSMO.jpg 2235w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/COSMO-350x271.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/COSMO-453x350.jpg 453w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/COSMO-768x594.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/COSMO-1920x1484.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/COSMO-1170x905.jpg 1170w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2235px) 100vw, 2235px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-57460\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Delta II rocket launches COSMO SkyMed-1 from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Credit: United Launch Alliance<\/p>\n<p>COSMO-SkyMed is a constellation of four X-band SAR satellites which were launched on separate Delta II missions between 2007 and 2010.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to leveraging two bands, the partnership will also increase the frequency of data collection due to the larger amount of satellites.<\/p>\n<p>Argentina has been working on their portion of the partnership for over a decade.<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, Botta explained that as the launch nears there is \u201ca lot of hype because it is a really big satellite compared to other satellites that we have launched. It is also a satellite which we have been developing for a very long time. A lot of people want to see it fly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=nextspaceflight&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1018629096501403648&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasaspaceflight.com%2F2018%2F08%2Fsaocom-1a-ships-vandenberg-falcon-9-first-west-coast-rtls%2F&amp;sessionId=cdaf72c0fd61c4d599f828a352c3d98f6ad82a0d&amp;siteScreenName=NASASpaceflight&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-14=\"true\" data-gtm-yt-inspected-21=\"true\" data-tweet-id=\"1018629096501403648\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1783498513195519417=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"es\" dir=\"ltr\">SAOCOM 1A LISTO PARA SU PR\u00d3XIMO DESPLIEGUE EN EL ESPACIO!  Hoy se cerr\u00f3 por \u00faltima vez la antena radar SAR y se acondicion\u00f3 para campa\u00f1a de lanzamiento, terminadas las  pruebas del sat\u00e9lite SAOCOM 1A de la CONAE desarrollado con INVAP, VENG, CNEA, GEMA, STI y empresas nacionales pic.twitter.com\/snrKEY0GU1<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 CONAE (@CONAE_Oficial) July 15, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Once SAOCOM 1A has been launched, they \u201cwill verify the design of 1A and then launch 1B.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>RTLS:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The SAOCOM 1A mission will be the first time that SpaceX performs an RTLS on the west coast.<\/p>\n<p>The launch is a perfect candidate to return the booster to the launch site considering that the SAOCOM 1A spacecraft weighs approximately 3,000 kilograms \u2013 well within the RTLS capabilities of a Falcon 9 Block 5.<\/p>\n<p>An RTLS at Vandenberg Air Force Base will make the launch extra exciting for spectators and photographers witnessing the launch. The distance from the launch pad to the center of the landing zone is only about 1,400 feet. <\/p>\n<p>For comparison, it is over five miles from SLC-40 to LZ-1 at Cape Canaveral. It is even further to Pad 39A.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-57459\" class=\"size-full wp-image-57459\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1620\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3.jpeg 1620w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3-350x233.jpeg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3-525x350.jpeg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3-1170x780.jpeg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3-585x390.jpeg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/3-263x175.jpeg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-57459\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The landing zone at SLC-4W. Credit: Jay DeShetler for NSF\/L2<\/p>\n<p>The landing zone at Vandenberg \u2013 which SpaceX is yet to publicly give an official name \u2013 is located at SLC-4W. SLC-4W was previously used as the launch site for the since-retired Atlas-Agena, Titan IIIB, and Titan II(23)G rockets.<\/p>\n<p>The booster that will be used to perform the first land landing on the west coast is B1048.2 which previously flew Iridium-7 on July 25th. The change to a flight-proven booster was finalized only a few weeks ago. <\/p>\n<p>Originally, the mission planned to fly on a new booster, as SpaceX had not even launched \u2013 yet alone landed \u2013 a Falcon 9 at the time that the launch contract was signed.<\/p>\n<p>If SAOCOM 1A does, in fact, fly in September, it will mark the quickest reflight of a Falcon 9. The current record holder is B1045 which had a turnaround time of 71 days between TESS and CRS-15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SAOCOM 1A \u2013 the Argentinian Earth observation satellite \u2013 has shipped to Vandenberg Air Force Base ahead of launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9. The mission will be the first on the west coast to see a Falcon 9 first stage perform an RTLS (Return to Launch Site) recovery. SAOCOM: SAOCOM (Sat\u00e9lite Argentino de Observaci\u00f3n [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38341,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[479,8977,316,603],"class_list":["post-38338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-falcon-9","tag-soacom","tag-spacex","tag-vandenberg"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38338"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}