SpaceX completes its second mission in 2019 with the launch of the GTO carpool

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SpaceX has launched the Indonesian telecommunications satellite Nusantara Satu (also called PSN 6) with SpaceIL's lunar Beresheet satellite.

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SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket takes off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Base to send the PSN 6 communications satellite, a small spacecraft for the US Air Force and a lunar commercial lander from Israel. Photo credit: Scott Schilke / SpaceFlight Insider

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – Following its second mission in 2019, SpaceX launched the Indonesian telecommunication satellite Nusantara Satu (also known as PSN 6) with SpaceIL's lunar Beresheet satellite at the top of a Falcon 9 rocket.

The US Air Force Research Lab (USAFRL) S5 satellite was also part of PSN 6. S5 and Beresheet use a carpool agreement with Spaceflight Mission Management Company.

The Falcon 9 returned to life with the opening of a 32-minute window, cleaning the tower of Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 20:45. EST Feb. 21 (1:45 GMT Feb. 22), 2019.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 with the PSN 6 satellite and the SpaceIL lunar lander illuminate the Florida skies as it moves into the geostationary transfer orbit. Photo credit: Michael Howard / Insider SpaceFlight

Boost phase

About three seconds before take-off, the vehicle's nine Merlin 1D engines started with a green blink. The engines, which burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and highly refined kerosene called RP-1, together produce a combined thrust of 1.71 million pounds (7,600 kilonewt) at sea level. This has provided enough of power to propel the rocket and its trio of spacecraft out of the platform, which cleared the tower soon after.

After gaining speed and altitude, the Falcon 9 began its gravity turn and headed east on the Atlantic Ocean.

As the vehicle accelerates, the rocket forces – the atmospheric pressure combined with the velocity, known as maximum aerodynamic pressure (Q max) – peaked at the end of about 77 mph. seconds.

Staging, landing and maybe another first

The nine first-stage Merlin 1D engines continued to propel the vehicle for an additional 87 seconds, then stopped for about 2 minutes, 37 seconds after leaving the launch pad. This was followed 3 seconds later by the separation of the first and second floors.

The first stage, now in a relatively ballistic trajectory, began to orient itself so that it could land so that it could land on one of the SpaceX drones.

Meanwhile, the second leg started its only Merlin 1D Vacuum engine, continuing its mission of bringing its three pbadengers into the planned orbits. The Merlin engine, capable of producing a vacuum configuration of 934 kilonewt (210,000 lbs), began to shine under the effect of heat from combustion as the vehicle and payload continued to burn. accelerate.

Once clear of the thick atmosphere and no longer requiring the thermal and acoustic protection provided by the fairing of the payload, the aerodynamic shell was discarded. Normally, these fairings are left to fall on the Earth, not to be recovered. However, SpaceX's DNA is focused on maximizing vehicle reuse, and their ultimate goal is the reuse of the fairing.

Although the company attempted to recover in the past with its launches on the west coast, this mission marked the first time that SpaceX was deploying its refit recovery vessel, "Mr. Steven, "for a mission on the east coast. It was not immediately clear whether the restoration of this mission had been successful.

The Falcon 9 used for this mission waits on the launch pad for its takeoff in the evening. This was the third flight profile of this recall. The two previous missions took place during the Iridium-7 and SAOCOM 1A missions in July and October 2018. Photo credit: Scott Schilke / SpaceFlight Insider

As the second leg and its pbadengers continued to accelerate, the first leg began to burn. Destined to lose speed, and the stresses that accompanied it collided as it was going through an increasingly thick atmosphere, the ignition of the engine began to slow down the rappel in its descent to the drone waiting – in the Atlantic Ocean below.

The second leg, with its pbadengers, reached its initial parking orbit with the engine stopping the scene just after 8 minutes of mission. The vehicle then entered a coastal phase of nearly 19 minutes.

As the second leg and its pbadengers waited for the motorized flight to resume, the first leg continued to dive on the ship below. Nearly 30 seconds after the start of his second-stage counterpart's coast, the first leg came back to life while she was lining up for a near-obese landing on the OCISLY.

SpaceIL's lunar lander will take several months to climb gradually into its orbit to be captured by the gravity of the Moon. Once in lunar orbit, it will perform a desorbital burn to land on the surface. Image Credit: SpaceIL

While many viewers are primarily interested in launching and landing SpaceX hardware, the primary mission is to deliver payloads to customers in orbit. After a nominal run, the Merlin 1D Vacuum engine was re-lit for its second use, which lasted a little over a minute.

After another short climb, it was time to deploy the first spacecraft.

Occupying first in the payload stack, Beresheet was deployed nearly 34 minutes after leaving SLC-40. After ground control procedures and the probe itself, the lander will undertake a two-month systematic voyage to the moon.

In a statement, NASA's administrator, Jim Bridenstine, congratulated the SpaceIL team for successfully launching their spacecraft.

"As we better understand Israel's capabilities and the innovative work of its private sector, Israel knows that it will be an even more powerful international partner in the future, an essential element for success. from the extension of commercial space on the Moon, then on Mars and beyond, Bridenstine m said.

NASA is seeking to partner with commercial companies to send payloads to the surface of the moon, ranging from small landing gear to reusable undercarriages with human evaluation. The US space agency even has a contributive experience aboard Beresheet: a small laser retroreflector installed aboard the lander to evaluate it as a navigation tool.

The PSN 6 and S5 spacecraft duo is still attached to the second leg. In fact, the S5 was actually a pbadenger of the much larger PSN 6 telecommunications satellite. The pair was separated from the second leg almost 45 minutes after launch and will use PSN 6's electric propulsion to get into orbit of the tandem. Before reaching its final orbital position, PSN 6 will deploy the USAFRL S5 satellite into an independent orbit.

This ended SpaceX's second mission in 2019. The company's next launch is expected to be the Crew Dragon spacecraft's first demonstration flight, SpX-DM1, scheduled to launch no earlier than 2 March.

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Tagged: Cape Canaveral Falcon Air Force Station 9 Stories from Leaders PSN-6 Space Launch Complex 40 SpaceIL SpaceX

Curt Godwin

Curt Godwin has always been a proponent of space exploration. He has stared at the sky since he was young. After studying nuclear engineering, Curt later decided that computers would be a better and safer career field. He has been working in educational technology for over 20 years and has been published in industry journals and by peers. He is a respected authority in wireless network engineering. Throughout this period of his life, he has maintained his love for space and told his experiences at various NASA events, both on his personal blog and as an independent media representative.