On Wednesday at 23:03 UTC, the Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral, delivering the DSCOVR satellite to Lagrange 1 orbit.
Although windy weather and a failing Air Force range were to blame for the previous scrubs, the conditions were perfect for launch on Wednesday. And so was the launch itself. As the Sun set below the horizon, the Falcon 9 first stage booster ignited and lifted off from the launchpad. The first stage burned for two minutes and forty seconds, followed by the ignition of the second stage engine. Two burns from the second stage were required to put the DSCOVR spacecraft on the correct trajectory towards the L1 point.
Although windy weather and a failing Air Force range were to blame for the previous scrubs, the conditions were perfect for launch on Wednesday. And so was the launch itself. As the Sun set below the horizon, the Falcon 9 first stage booster ignited and lifted off from the launchpad. The first stage burned for two minutes and forty seconds, followed by the ignition of the second stage engine. Two burns from the second stage were required to put the DSCOVR spacecraft on the correct trajectory towards the L1 point.
DSCOVR, which stands for Deep Space Climate Observatory, is an observation and space weather satellite. Originally proposed in 1998, the spacecraft suffered many delays. Initially it was expected to be launched aboard the ill-fated 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle mission, but ultimately was delayed. During Bush’s administration it was put into storage, with no effort being made to give it a new launch date. Today, 17 years after it was first proposed, it has finally been launched.
The DSCOVR spacecraft is currently on its way towards the L1 point, and is expected to reach its orbit in a few months’ time. The Lagrange 1 is a point in space where the spacecraft will not move, relative to the Earth and Sun. This sounds confusing, but these useful animations by the ESA are great for understanding the dynamics of the Lagrangian points.
The DSCOVR spacecraft is currently on its way towards the L1 point, and is expected to reach its orbit in a few months’ time. The Lagrange 1 is a point in space where the spacecraft will not move, relative to the Earth and Sun. This sounds confusing, but these useful animations by the ESA are great for understanding the dynamics of the Lagrangian points.
Although the launch’s primary goal was to successfully deliver the DSCOVR spacecraft to space, much of the attention for this launch will be on the fate of the first stage. With the first stage booster just missing the landing last time round because of a lack of hydraulic fluids, it was hoped that as this launch will have more hydraulic fluids, the landing would work. However, rough seas and stormy weather damaged the ASDS (the landing barge).
“Planning a significant upgrade of the droneship for future missions to handle literally anything” tweeted Elon Musk, shortly after the damage to the barge became known.
The secondary mission target therefore changed to soft landing in the Atlantic, which was seemingly very successful. Musk said the rocket “soft landed in the ocean within 10m of the target and nicely vertical!”
With two launches already out of the way so far this year, SpaceX aim for a third to lift off from Cape Canaveral later this month. The launch of Eutelsat 115 West B and ABS 3A satellites is currently scheduled for the 27th February, which would give a turnaround time of just 16 days. For rocket landing fans out there, you’ll be sad to hear this launch will not feature legs, so no landing is expected!
“Planning a significant upgrade of the droneship for future missions to handle literally anything” tweeted Elon Musk, shortly after the damage to the barge became known.
The secondary mission target therefore changed to soft landing in the Atlantic, which was seemingly very successful. Musk said the rocket “soft landed in the ocean within 10m of the target and nicely vertical!”
With two launches already out of the way so far this year, SpaceX aim for a third to lift off from Cape Canaveral later this month. The launch of Eutelsat 115 West B and ABS 3A satellites is currently scheduled for the 27th February, which would give a turnaround time of just 16 days. For rocket landing fans out there, you’ll be sad to hear this launch will not feature legs, so no landing is expected!