{"id":9997,"date":"2024-10-14T19:49:19","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T11:49:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-launches-5-2-billion-nasa-mission-to-jupiters-ocean-moon-europa\/"},"modified":"2024-10-14T19:49:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T11:49:19","slug":"spacex-launches-5-2-billion-nasa-mission-to-jupiters-ocean-moon-europa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-launches-5-2-billion-nasa-mission-to-jupiters-ocean-moon-europa\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX launches $5.2 billion NASA mission to Jupiter\u2019s ocean moon, Europa"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_67574\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67574\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67574\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-2.jpeg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-2-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-2-678x452.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-2-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67574\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dozens gather on the lawn of the Kennedy Space Center press site to watch as a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off with NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Hot on the heels of its successful mid-air booster catch during its Sunday Starship Flight 5 mission, SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center around lunchtime on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Onboard the three-core vehicle was NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper spacecraft, which will embark on a year\u2019s long expedition to Jupiter\u2019s ocean moon, Europa. NASA believes this moon, characterized by its icy exterior and the ocean beneath it, may contain evidence suggesting that the building blocks for life might exist on another celestial body besides Earth.<\/p>\n<p>Europa Clipper was sent on an inter-planetary trajectory to begin a nearly six-year mission to its namesake moon. Liftoff of the mission from Launch Complex 39A happened at 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 UTC).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tZjszhRVo9s\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This Falcon Heavy mission was a unique circumstance that required SpaceX to expend all three of the rocket\u2019s boosters. In most Falcon Heavy flights, the two side boosters are flown back to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after separating from the center booster, which is not recovered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFalcon Heavy is giving Europa Clipper its all, sending this spacecraft to the furthest destination we\u2019ve ever sent, which means the mission requires the maximum performance,\u201d said Julianna Scheiman, Director of NASA Science Missions for SpaceX, during a prelaunch media teleconference.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know about you guys, but I can\u2019t think of a better mission to sacrifice boosters for where we might have an opportunity to discover life in our own solar system.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The mission was the sixth and final flight for side booster, 1064 and 1065, made their sixth and final launch. They both previously supported the launches of USSF-44, USSF-67, Jupiter-3\/EchoStar-24, NASA\u2019s Psyche and USSF-52.<\/p>\n<p>Following the impacts of Hurricane Milton, the mission was originally scheduled for Oct. 13, but NASA and SpaceX decided to delay 24 hours. During the teleconference, Scheiman said that was due to an issue that came up during a prelaunch mission assessment SpoaceX calls a \u201cparanoia scrub.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring that process, we encountered a quality control issue related to our vehicle tubing. And there\u2019s tubing on all over in different parts of the rocket. So one of the things we have done, working really closely with our NASA Launch Services Program team, is looked at what, what hardware on the vehicle was set, was suspect, was needed to be evaluated as part of this issue, and make sure that it had its necessary checks and validation as needed,\u201d Scheiman said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo basically making sure that every system went through an acceptance test or a validation test or an additional type of inspection to make sure that the vehicle and the hardware that\u2019s on the pad vertical right now is ready to fly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Tim Dunn, the senior launch director for NASA\u2019s Launch Services Program (LSP), added that SpaceX brought up the issue late last week and NASA agreed that the issue needed further work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur teams worked hand in hand for most all of Friday evening and all day [Saturday], to get to a very confident risk posture today (Sunday) as we went into our launch readiness reviews,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cSo we\u2019re in very good shape, and we do appreciate SpaceX\u2019s paranoia.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67575\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67575\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67575\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-1.jpeg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-1-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-1-678x452.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_launch_MC-1-768x512.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67575\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A fully expendable SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center, carrying the agency\u2019s largest spacecraft bound for a planetary mission. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>While the mission didn\u2019t involve the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s commercial launch licensing process, since it\u2019s a NASA-led mission, the issue of the Falcon 9 upper stage anomaly that cropped up during the Crew-9 mission did come up during the prelaunch briefing.<\/p>\n<p>Scheiman said the Merlin vacuum engine on the second stage of the rocket, which is the same used on a Falcon Heavy, burned for 500 milliseconds after the shutdown command was issued for a deorbit burn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat half a second of extra thrust basically made it such that the second stage re entered the Earth\u2019s atmosphere slowly outside of the established zone for landing of that second stage in the South Pacific Ocean,\u201d she said. \u201cOn our vehicle, everything responded as it was intended. We basically commanded a backup Merlin vacuum shutdown process that closed the open engine\u2019s liquid oxygen bleed valve, that successfully shut down the MVac engine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NASA closely followed along with SpaceX\u2019s analysis of the issue and said they were confident in the conclusions reached, but also did their own verifications to be extra sure.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe partnered, obviously, with SpaceX because of the proximity of the Crew-9 mission to the Europa Clipper planetary window and SpaceX brought us quickly into that anomaly resolution,\u201d Dunn said. \u201cWe held our own independent engineering review board just the day after our flight readiness review, where we assessed and cleared Europa Clipper of this anomaly.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67475\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67475\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67475\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240928_Crew-9_launch_MC-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240928_Crew-9_launch_MC-1.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240928_Crew-9_launch_MC-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240928_Crew-9_launch_MC-1-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/20240928_Crew-9_launch_MC-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67475\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A SpaceX Crew Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) for the first time on the Crew-9 mission. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h4>Exploring Europa<\/h4>\n<p>The journey to the icy moon of Europa is something that has been in discussion since the late 90s and was envisioned as a successor to the Galileo spacecraft, which orbited Jupiter from 1995 to 1997.<\/p>\n<p>The National Research Council recommended a mission to Europa in 2013, which came with an estimated cost at the time of about $2 billion. By about 2019, mission cost estimates rose to around $4.25 billion and as of now, the mission has a total cost estimate of $5.2 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Fully fueled, the spacecraft clocks in at about 5,700 kg (~12566 lbs.) and is powered by 28 thrusters. For a sense of scale, with its solar panels unfurled, it is longer than a standard basketball court.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67563\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67563\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67563\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_encapsulation_small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_encapsulation_small.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_encapsulation_small-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_encapsulation_small-678x432.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_encapsulation_small-768x489.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67563\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Technicians prepare to encapsulate NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy payload fairing in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024. The payload fairing will protect the spacecraft during liftoff from Launch Complex 39A on its journey to explore Jupiter\u2019s icy moon, Europa. Image: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Following spacecraft separation from the Falcon Heavy upper stage, Jordan Evans, the Europa Clipper project manager, previewed that the team would first work to acquire the signal from the spacecraft, which ended up taking a few minutes. That was followed about two to three hours of Europa Clipper \u201crolling like a rotisserie to warm up [its] solar array mechanisms\u201d and then it will use what Evans called \u201cthermal knives\u201d to cut the solar array restraints over the course of roughly 30 minutes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt takes about 30 minutes for the spacecraft to cut through all nine per side. So, it does eight per side and then at about 30 minutes after the initiation of solar array separation start, it cuts the ninth on either side,\u201d Evans explained. \u201cThat occurs about three to three-and-a-half hours after launch and it will take a little while for us to identify the state of the vehicle following solar array separation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NASA confirmed on social media that the solar arrays deployed successfully and the spacecraft was able to fully charge its batteries to begin its journey.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_67564\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-67564\" style=\"width: 876px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-67564\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_solar_array_small.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"876\" height=\"584\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_solar_array_small.jpg 876w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_solar_array_small-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_solar_array_small-678x452.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/20241014_Europa_Clipper_solar_array_small-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 876px) 100vw, 876px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-67564\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper is seen here on Aug. 21, 2024, in a clean room at the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The photo was taken as engineers and technicians deployed and tested the spacecraft\u2019s giant solar arrays, each of which measures about 46.5 feet (14.2 meters) long and about 13.5 feet (4.1 meters) high. Image: NASA\/Frank Michaux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The journey to Europa will take five-and-a-half years, with Clipper set to arrive on April 11, 2030. The journey includes a Mars gravity assist on March 1, 2025, and Earth gravity assist in December 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Sandra Connelly, deputy associate administrator for NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate, said she is \u201csuper excited\u201d for the mission, stating that it\u2019s \u201ca very important part of our [science] portfolio, as it will bring us one step closer to answering fundamental questions about our solar system and our place in it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cScientists believe Europa has the suitable conditions below its icy surface to support life. Its conditions are water, energy, chemistry and stability,\u201d Connelly said. \u201cTo do this, we will be collecting data from nine instruments and one science experiment. Science includes gathering measurements of the internal ocean; mapping the surface composition and geology; and hunting for plumes of water vapor that may be venting from the icy crust.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s at Jupiter, Europa Clipper will make about 50 flybys of Europa at its closest approach, which is about 25 km (16 mi) above its surface.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_50068\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50068\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50068\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/EuropaClipper_Poster_08_2020_002_2_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/EuropaClipper_Poster_08_2020_002_2_.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/EuropaClipper_Poster_08_2020_002_2_-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/EuropaClipper_Poster_08_2020_002_2_-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/EuropaClipper_Poster_08_2020_002_2_-678x452.jpg 678w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50068\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artist\u2019s concept of the Europa Clipper spacecraft, with Europa and Jupiter in the background. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dozens gather on the lawn of the Kennedy Space Center press site to watch as a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off with NASA\u2019s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Image: Michael Cain\/Spaceflight Now Hot on the heels of its successful mid-air booster catch during its Sunday Starship Flight 5 mission, SpaceX launched a Falcon Heavy rocket from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"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":[1282,678,190,316],"class_list":["post-9997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-europa-clipper","tag-falcon-heavy","tag-nasa","tag-spacex"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9997"}],"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=9997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9997\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}