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A pair of missions to area stations headline the launches for the week of Jan. 10 to Jan. 17. Axiom-3 shall be flying 4 personal astronauts to the Worldwide Area Station (ISS), changing into the primary crew launch of 2024. Crew Dragon Freedom will fly from Florida, with a multinational crew, for a mission to the Station lasting round two weeks.
The Tianzhou 7 cargo spacecraft headed for the Chinese language Area Station Tiangong can be flying this week, and Japan has launched a navy reconnaissance satellite tv for pc aboard one in every of its final H-IIA rockets. As well as, the Gravity-1 rocket developed by the Chinese language agency OrienSpace made its maiden flight. Starlink 7-10 and Starlink 6-37 have now launched efficiently, whereas a Kuaizhou-1A launched efficiently from Jiuquan on Jan. 11.
There could possibly be 4 launches on Wednesday, Jan. 17 (US time). In addition to Tianzhou-7 and Axiom-3, and Starlink 7-11 may additionally fly. These launches would proceed what’s a speedy cadence of flights to date this yr. 2023 featured 220 orbital launch makes an attempt which is a brand new document, however 2024 is more likely to eclipse this.
CASIC Kuaizhou 1A Y24| Tianxing-1-02
On Thursday, Jan. 11, at 03:52 UTC, a CASIC Kuaizhou 1A efficiently launched from Website 95A on the Jiuquan Satellite tv for pc Launch Middle in northwest China. Earlier than the launch, the automobile and payload had been unknown.
CAS Area had been regarded as flying its Kinetica-1 automobile, and it later had been believed that Galactic Power was going to the Ceres-1 as a substitute. Many Chinese language launches aren’t introduced upfront, and the automobile and payload aren’t identified earlier than the flight.
The Kuaizhou-1A, developed by the China Aerospace and Science and Business Company’s subsidiary ExPace, is a four-stage launcher that’s able to flying payloads as much as 200 kilograms to a sun-synchronous orbit. Three of the levels are solid-fueled whereas the fourth stage is liquid-fueled.
This flight launched the Tianxing-1-02 satellite tv for pc, which is described as a satellite tv for pc for spatial setting measurement functions. It was positioned right into a sun-synchronous orbit, which is commonly utilized by statement satellites because it permits for passing over a given level on Earth on the similar time of day.
The Kuaizhou 1A has now flown twice in 2024, and 26 instances general with 24 successes.
OrienSpace Gravity-1 Y1 | 3x Yunyao-1
A brand new launch automobile made its debut, developed by the Chinese language business sector. OrienSpace’s Gravity-1 is a brand new medium-lift rocket that guarantees to be probably the most succesful all-solid fueled automobile on the planet.
Gravity-1’s maiden flight, often known as Y1, launched efficiently on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 05:30 UTC from the purpose-built launch ship Dongfang Hangtiangang within the East China Sea simply off the Chinese language coast close to the port metropolis of Haiyang. The rocket is believed to have carried three satellites, and a NOTAM hints at a 50-degree inclination orbit.
The three satellites are actually recognized as Yunyao-1 small climate satellites utilizing GNSS radio occultation. These satellites are regarded as half of a bigger constellation of as much as 90 satellites, with just a few already launched. Nonetheless, the precise particulars are extremely unsure.
Gravity-1 has three solid-fueled levels and 4 solid-fueled strap-on boosters. The rocket’s listed payload capability to low-Earth orbit is 6,500 kilograms, which might additionally make Gravity-1 in a position to raise heavier payloads than some other Chinese language business launcher constructed to date. This capability can be larger than the Delta II 7000H sequence, the highest-performing variant of that retired rocket household.
Mitsubishi H-IIA F48 | IGS-Optical 8
Whereas Japan is engaged on returning the H-III to flight after its preliminary launch failure, the nation is flying out the final H-IIA automobiles. H-IIA F48 is the third to final flight of the system that began operations in 2001 and shall be changed by the H-III.
The H-IIA 202 sequence rocket launched efficiently on Friday, Jan. 12, at 04:44 UTC from LA-Y1 on the Tanegashima Area Middle in southern Japan. The F48 automobile (forty eighth flight of the H-IIA) flew the IGS-Optical 8 navy reconnaissance and civil catastrophe statement satellite tv for pc right into a sun-synchronous polar orbit.
Now that this H-IIA has flown, there shall be simply two flights left for the veteran launcher. The GOSAT-GW greenhouse gasoline monitoring satellite tv for pc and the IGS-Radar 8 reconnaissance satellite tv for pc would be the final payloads flown by a automobile that has served Japan for over 20 years.
SpaceX Falcon 9|Starlink 7-10
The second launch of a Falcon 9 from Vandenberg Area Power Base this month was initially set to fly on Jan. 9 and was then scrubbed as a result of excessive degree winds on its try on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 13. The launch passed off on Sunday, Jan 14 at 0:59 AM PST (08:59 UTC), carrying 22 Starlink satellites to an orbit inclined 53 levels to the Equator.
Falcon 9 B1061-18 landed efficiently on Of Course I Nonetheless Love You out within the Pacific after excessive winds and uneven seas within the Pacific close to southern California had brought about a number of delays to the flight.
This flight was SpaceX’s fourth launch of 2024 and B1061-18 is the second within the fleet to land for an 18th time. The booster began its profession by flying out of Florida earlier than being transferred to the West Coast, and the veteran rocket began out with flying the Crew-1 mission, the primary operational Crew Dragon mission to the ISS.
Since then, B1061 has flown Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Starlink 4-7, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM-15 and USA 328 to 331, Starlink 3-3, EROS-C3, Starlink 2-7, 3-5, 2-10, 7-1, 7-5, and 425 Venture Flight 1 plus rideshares.
SpaceX Falcon 9 | Starlink 6-37
SpaceX has added the Starlink 6-37 launch to this week’s schedule. This flight had been slated for launch on Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8:10 PM EST (03:10 UTC Jan. 14) from SLC-40 on the Cape Canaveral Area Power Station in Florida. Nonetheless, the launch time was first moved again after which scrubbed with no motive given.
Starlink 6-37 efficiently launched on Sunday, Jan. 14 at 8:52 PM EST (01:52 UTC Jan. 15) after being pushed again from the start of the window. The booster for this flight is B1073-12, and it efficiently landed on A Shortfall of Gravitas out within the Atlantic after flying a southeast trajectory.
This launch took 23 Starlink v2 Mini satellites as much as an orbit with a 43 diploma inclination. As a part of SpaceX’s effort to launch 144 Falcon household missions in 2024, some Starlink missions may fly a lowered variety of satellites to orbit whereas having the ability to return to the launch website (RTLS) and land on a concrete pad as a substitute of utilizing a drone ship. On this case, no RTLS touchdown was accomplished.
B1073 began its profession with Starlink 4-15 from Cape Canaveral in Might 2022, and it has additionally flown SES-22, Starlinks 4-26 and 4-35, HAKUTO-R Mission 1, Amazonas Nexus, CRS-27, Starlinks 6-2, 5-11, 6-12, and 6-27. This was the fifth launch of the yr for SpaceX.
Chang Zheng 7 Y8 | Tianzhou 7
The primary launch to an area station scheduled for this week is the Tianzhou 7 cargo ship set to fly to the Chinese language Area Station. This flight can be delivering cargo wanted for the Shenzhou 17 crew aboard the Chinese language Area Station now.
Tianzhou 7 is scheduled to fly on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 14:20 UTC from LC-201 on the Wenchang Area Launch Website on Hainan Island. The Chang Zheng 7 Y8 automobile shall be tasked with sending Tianzhou 7 and its cargo to the area station, which is in a 391 by 386-kilometer low-Earth orbit inclined 41.5 levels to the Equator. For comparability, the Worldwide Area Station is in a 422 by 413-kilometer orbit inclined 51.6 levels to the Equator.
The Tianzhou spacecraft is bigger than the Progress, Cargo Dragon, and Cygnus automobiles that offer the Worldwide Area Station with cargo. It’s because the Tianzhou cargo ship is derived from China’s first area station, Tiangong-1, which reached orbit in 2011.
Falcon 9 | Axiom-3
The Axiom-3 (AX-3) mission, utilizing the Crew Dragon C212 Freedom, is scheduled to fly 4 personal astronauts, representing 5 nations, to the ISS for an approximate two-week mission.
AX-3 is scheduled to launch on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 5:11 PM EST (22:11 UTC) from LC-39A on the Kennedy Area Middle in Florida. It had been thought that this may be the primary crewed launch from SLC-40, however a Starlink launch will now be utilizing it. A crew entry arm and launch tower had been constructed and completed final yr at SLC-40 to offer redundancy within the occasion of a mishap or different situation that will place Pad 39A out of fee.
Falcon 9 B1080 can be making its fifth flight on this mission, whereas Crew Dragon Freedom can be making its third flight. B1080 would conduct a return to the launch website and land on the LZ-1 concrete pad, whereas Freedom would dock with the Station within the early hours of Jan. 19.
B1080’s first flight was the Axiom-2 mission which additionally used Crew Dragon Freedom making its second flight. This booster additionally has flown the Euclid telescope in addition to Starlink 6-11 and Starlink 6-24.
Twin US/Spanish citizen Michael Lopez-Alegria, a veteran of earlier Area Shuttle and Crew Dragon missions, would command the crew. A minimum of one astronaut on a personal mission to ISS will need to have Station expertise, which Lopez-Alegria does have.
Astronaut Walter Villadei of Italy, who has flown to the sting of area aboard the VSS Unity throughout a suborbital flight, goes to orbit for the primary time whereas Alper Gezeravci would change into the primary Turkish particular person to fly to area. ESA astronaut Marcus Wandt of Sweden would conduct the “Muninn” mission for the company alongside Danish ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, conducting what’s dubbed the “Huginn” mission throughout his six-month keep aboard the Station.
The AX-3 flight can be the sixth SpaceX launch of 2024, as the corporate makes an attempt to fly as much as 144 missions this calendar yr. As well as, it’s the first of two crewed flights scheduled for this month, and the primary of at the least 12 presently deliberate for this yr.
SpaceX Falcon 9|Starlink 7-11
Initially anticipated to launch the identical day as Axiom-3, Starlink 7-11 is now set for launch on Jan. 19 at 6:22 PST (02:22 UTC) from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Area Power Base throughout a window that lasts over 4 hours. The booster for this flight is presently not identified, however it might land on Of Course I Nonetheless Love You within the Pacific.
This flight is because of carry as much as 22 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to an orbit inclined 53 levels to the Equator and can be the seventh SpaceX launch in 2024 barring unexpected delays and manifest adjustments.
(Lead picture: B1080 carrying Crew Dragon Freedom rolls towards LC-39A on a previous mission. Credit score: SpaceX)
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