ULA geo5 mission

 

Today, May 18, at launch complex 41 of the Space Force compound at Cape Canaveral, Florida we were treated to the sight of the launch of the ULA (United Launch Aliance) Atlas V 421 rocket. The rocket, carrying the Lockhead Martin built SBIRS 5 (space based infer-red system) satellite and two smaller satellites equipped with the Ez3 and Ez4 flight systems. Lifted-off at 1:37 ET (10:37 PT). The launch was originally scheduled to take place the previous day but was delayed due to weather conditions.

The SBIRS satellite is the 5^th installment of an array that will at its completion the array will be comprised of 6 satellites in a geosynchronous orbit over the Indian Ocean. The array will then provide the Space Force with warnings of incoming missiles and other critical information needed for the defense of the United States of America.

“Thank you to our mission partners for the tremendous teamwork as we processed and launched this asset that provides powerful surveillance and critical capabilities to protect our warfighters,” said Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Programs. “We are proud to work with the U.S. Space Force to continue to meet the national security needs of our country.”

The EZ-3 & 4 satellites, that were a secondary payload, will provide critical information for launches and capabilities for warfighters.

This launch marks the 87^th time that the ULA has sent an Atlas V into space. Out of those 87 times this is only the 8^th Atlas using the 421 configuration. The 421 configuration consist of a 13.7-ft long payload fairings on the centaur upper stage.

SpaceX launches 60 Starlink satellites

 

Early Sunday morning, May 9, Cape Canaveral was lit up as a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off the launch pad at space launch complex 40. It was 2:42 a.m. EDT (11:42 p.m. Saturday PDT) when the engines roared and the Falcon 9 carried 60 Starlink satellites into the sky. This successful launch will bring the total 1321 Starlink communication satellites in a low Earth orbit. This flight will mark a milestone as the first stage of the rocket will make its 10^th launch.

"First time a Falcon rocket booster will reach double digits in flights," SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on Twitter Saturday before launch.

Just under nine minutes after the launch the first stage of the rocket safely landed on the drone barge just read the instructions. The landing not only marked the 10^th recovery for this rocket but the 83^rd time that SpaceX has successfully recovered the first stage of one of their rockets. The first time this feat was accomplished was when SpaceX made history back in December of 2015.

"SpaceX's first reuse of an orbital class rocket was on the SES-10 mission way back in March of 2017," Spacex supply chain supervisor Michael Andrews said in a live webcast. "We've certainly come a long way since then.”

SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. Founded by Elon Musk in 2002 with the goal of bringing down the cost of space transport and one day colonizing Mars. SpaceX currently owns three launch pads: slc-40 in Cape Canaveral and lc-39a at Kennedy Space Center both on the east coast and slc-42 at Vandenberg, California on the west coast.