SpaceX to launch 13 satellites for Space Development Agency mega-constellation

SpaceX to launch 13 satellites for Space Development Agency mega-constellation

Time Stamp: August 31, 2023 9:08 AM
Source Node: 2855962

Update 10:35 a.m. EDT: SpaceX is standing down from the Aug. 31 launch attempt of the Tranche 0B mission due to an engine issue. Teams are troubleshooting and will assess a new launch date. This booster, B1063, has flown 12 previous missions, starting with the Sentinel-6 launch on Nov. 21, 2020. It most recently launched a batch of 48 Starlink satellites on the Starlink Group 5-13 mission on July 7, 2023.

Update: SpaceX adjusted the launch time for this mission. The new T-0 liftoff is now targeting 8:25 a.m. PDT (11:25 EDT, 1525 UTC). This is the end of the launch window for Thursday, Aug. 31. If needed, there is a backup opportunity at 7:26 a.m. PDT (10:26 a.m. EDT / 1426 UTC) on Sept. 1.

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch 13 Tranche 0 demonstration satellites for the U.S. military’s Space Development Agency (SDA). Liftoff from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California is scheduled for 7:26 a.m. PDT (10:26 a.m. EDT / 1426 UTC).

The launch is the second Falcon 9 missions to carry SDA demonstration spacecraft for a future constellation of military missile tracking and data relay satellites. Ten satellites for the constellation were launched Apr. 2 on a Falcon 9. A further four satellites are scheduled for launch on a later mission hosted by the Missile Defence Agency, according to an SDA fact sheet.

Aboard the Falcon 9 are 11 communications satellites, part of what SDA calls the ‘Transport Layer’ and two satellites for the so-called ‘Tracking Layer’.

The Falcon 9’s first stage booster, which is making its 13th flight will return to Landing Zone 4 at Vandenberg about seven and a half minutes after launch.

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