SpaceX has launched a trio of spaceships, including a lander to the Moon

Update from February 21st at 9:30 pm ET: SpaceX successfully launched the three spacecraft in the planned orbits. The Falcon 9 used for the mission also landed on the SpaceX drone, despite harsh weather conditions. The landing marks the third successful touchdown of this rocket. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that he would still fly in April, carry out flight test of the company's new Crew Dragon capsule. If this happens, this Falcon 9 booster will be the first to go into space and four times.

Original story: SpaceX will launch tonight its second Falcon 9 rocket of the year. It will carry an eclectic trio of spacecraft in an orbit high above the Earth. The payloads include an Indonesian communications satellite, a small experimental air force satellite and an Israeli lander who will spend the next two months on the moon.

The rocket-sharing was partially coordinated by Spaceflight Industries, a company that serves as a broker for satellite operators to enter space. To do this, Spaceflight finds more space on rockets that are already launching larger spacecraft and provides equipment to deploy vehicles in orbit. In this case, SpaceX was to launch the Indonesian satellite, Nusantara Satu, and Spaceflight Industries arranged for the other two spacecraft to join the mission.

Nusantara Satu, operated by Indonesian satellite company Pasifik Satelit Nusantara, will provide Internet connectivity to Indonesia as the country's first "high-speed satellite", according to SpaceX. The Air Force payload, called S5, is intended to test whether small, low-cost satellites could be usable for Defense Department missions. S5 will move into the space connected to the Nusantara Satu satellite and will then deploy to orbit.

The latest pilot is the Beresheet lander, a spacecraft developed by the Israeli organization SpaceIL. The SpaceX Falcon 9 will drop this lander at about 60,000 kilometers, placing the spacecraft in an orbit elongated around the Earth. From there, Beresheet will spend the next two months expanding its orbit to reach the moon and reach the lunar orbit. If successful, the lander will then make an autonomous landing, marking the first lunar mission for Israel and the first private spacecraft to reach the surface of another planetary body.

Photo: Spaceflight Industries

The mission holds a number of firsts for SpaceX and Spaceflight Industries. SpaceX has never launched a vehicle to the Moon before. In the meantime, this is the first flight coordinated by Spaceflight Industries that will send a spacecraft into a high orbit known as a geosynchronous transfer orbit. Previously, Spaceflight only had missions in low Earth orbit, but tonight's flight will be higher than ever. "The mission is really complex, there are a lot of design constraints and constraints that are very specific to this type of mission," says Ryan Olcott, mission director for this Spaceflight flight. The edge.

SpaceX uses one of its Falcon 9s used for launch – a vehicle that has already flown twice before. The rocket had previously launched a batch of satellites for Iridium in July 2018, then flew again in October, deploying an Argentinean satellite called SAOCOM 1A. He has successfully landed on Earth after each trip and will now attempt a successful third launch and landing. After take-off, the rocket will attempt to land on one of SpaceX's autonomous UAVs in the Atlantic Ocean.

Today's mission is scheduled to take off at 20:45 (ET) from the SpaceX launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in Florida. The company has a launch window of 32 minutes, which allows it to take off until 21:17 ET. So far, there is a 80% chance that weather conditions will co-operate for the flight, according to the 45th Space Wing, which oversees launches from Cape Town. If SpaceX can not be launched tonight, he will be able to try again on Friday.

SpaceX's mission coverage is expected to begin 15 minutes before takeoff. Then come back to watch a trio of satellites launch live.