SpaceX has postponed the launch of a NASA water-monitoring satellite to Friday (December 16) to allow more time to investigate a problem with its Falcon 9 rocket.
The SWOT (Surface Water and Ocean Topography) satellite was scheduled to lift off atop a Falcon 9 Thursday, Dec. 15 at 6:46 a.m. EST (11:46 GMT). But SpaceX is now aiming for a Friday launch, at this same early hour.
“After SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket went vertical on the Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, teams identified moisture in two Merlin engines on the first stage. of the rocket,” NASA officials wrote in a brief update. (opens in a new tab) Wednesday evening (December 14).
“Teams completed rocket engine inspections today, but will use the additional time to conduct reviews and data analysis ahead of a launch attempt,” they added.
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It is possible that the moisture detected in both motors is water, given that a storm roared in the Vandenberg area a few days ago. If so, Friday is a realistic launch target.
If it’s something else – thruster, for example – there’s likely to be a longer delay.
“It’s likely that if it’s anything other than water, we’ll have to pull out of the launch and remove and replace those engines to make sure we’re launching reliably,” said Julianna Scheiman, director. civilian satellite missions at SpaceX, during a pre-launch press conference. Wednesday afternoon.
The Falcon 9 is powered by nine Merlin engines in its first stage (hence the name of the rocket). The upper stage of the two-stage rocket sports a single Merlin, optimized for use in space.
SWOT is a joint effort by NASA and the French space agency CNES, with contributions from the Canadian and British space agencies. Once in flight, the satellite will measure water levels in lakes, rivers and oceans around the world with unprecedented accuracy.
Data from the mission will give scientists a better understanding of our world’s waterways and how they are affected by climate change, among other applications, mission team members said.
Friday is shaping up to be a very busy day for spaceflight. SpaceX is scheduled to launch two missions that day in addition to SWOT. The other two will take off from the Space Coast of Florida. One will launch a batch of the company’s Starlink internet satellites, and the other will send two satellites for telecommunications company SES.
Rocket Lab is also aiming for its first-ever launch from US soil on Friday. On this mission, an Electron booster topped with three HawkEye 360 radio surveillance satellites will launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Mike Wall is the author of “The low (opens in a new tab)(Grand Central Publishing, 2018; illustrated by Karl Tate), a book about the search for extraterrestrial life. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall (opens in a new tab). Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom (opens in a new tab) Where Facebook (opens in a new tab).
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