Rockets' Red Glare? Multiple Rocket Launches Coming Up this Week [Updates: 3]
[Update 3: 20200928_142723 UTC: Starlink 12 launch scrubbed at T-0:30. "Hold Hold Hold - Scrub for weather violations". Tomorrow's GPS launch is still "go"; unknown retry date/time for this Starlink 12 launch.]
[Update 2: 20200928_130017 UTC: Added YouTube link for Starlink 12 launch.]
[Update 1: 20200927_134757 UTC: (thanks for the link, aristarchus) ULA again delays Delta IV Heavy launch due to hardware issues at Cape Canaveral:
Update, Sept. 27: The launch of Delta IV Heavy has been delayed again due to the swing arm system at Launch Complex 37. Teams are now targeting just after midnight Tuesday, Sept. 29. SpaceX's two subsequent missions are TBD until Delta IV Heavy launches.
Please submit a story (with supporting link[s]) if you learn of updated launch dates/times. --martyb]
martyb writes:
If you are interested in rocket launches and happen to be near Cape Canaveral, Florida at the end of the month, you'll potentially be able to see three rocket launches in 3 days:
That said, COVID-19 is still not under control, so please practice social distancing, wear a mask, and self-quarantine for 14 days if you choose to attend.
Sept. 27 -- 0410 GMT (12:10 a.m. EDT)
(Delayed due to issues with the launch tower's swing arm system. Aiming for after midnight 2020-09-29)
Delta 4-Heavy NROL-44
Launch site: SLC-37B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket will launch a classified spy satellite cargo for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office. The largest of the Delta 4 family, the Heavy version features three Common Booster Cores mounted together to form a triple-body rocket.
Sept. 28 -- 1422 GMT (10:22 a.m. EDT)
Falcon 9 Starlink 12
Launch site: LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the 13th batch of approximately 60 satellites for SpaceX's Starlink broadband network, a mission designated Starlink 12.
[20200928_130017 UTC: Link to YouTube live stream scheduled to start about 15 minutes before launch; just over an hour from this update.]
Sept. 29/30 -- 0155-0210 GMT on 30th (9:55-10:10 p.m. EDT on 29th)
Falcon 9 GPS 3 SV04
Launch site: SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch the U.S. Air Force's fourth third-generation navigation satellite for the Global Positioning System. The satellite is built by Lockheed Martin.
If you are closer to the Washington, DC area at the end of the month, there is a launch scheduled from the launch facility at Wallops Island, Virginia:
Sept. 29/30 -- 0227 GMT on 30th (10:27 p.m. EDT on 29th)
Antares NG-14
Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket will launch the 15th Cygnus cargo freighter on the 14th operational cargo delivery flight to the International Space Station. The mission is known as NG-14. The rocket will fly in the Antares 230 configuration, with two RD-181 first stage engines and a Castor 30XL second stage.
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