United Launch Alliance
Hurricane Ian carved a devastating orbit over Florida this week, and the core passed directly over Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral on Thursday.
By this time, however, Ian had weakened to become a moderately strong tropical storm, with most of the heaviest rainfall north of the launch pads along the Atlantic coast. As a result, damage to NASA’s launch facilities at the Kennedy Space Center and the Space Force’s launch pads at Cape Canaveral was minimal.
Accordingly, work was already underway on Friday at facilities along Florida’s “Space Coast” for a rapid succession of three launches in three days.
SES-20 and SES-21
First up is a commercial mission on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket to launch SES-20 and SES-21 satellites for Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES. Stacked in its “531” configuration, this Atlas rocket features a five-meter-diameter payload fairing, three solid rocket boosters and a motor on the Centaur’s top stage.
On Friday, United Launch Alliance said everything is continuing to progress toward the launch of this mission on Tuesday, October 4, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch is scheduled for 5:36 p.m. EST (21:36 UTC). The weather is forecast to be favorable, with a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions for launch.
After launch, the Atlas V rocket will move the pair of communications satellites into near-circular, near-geosynchronous orbits. Once separated, the satellites will use onboard propulsion systems to orbit their orbits 35,900 km above the equator.
Crew-5
Next in Florida is NASA’s Crew-5 mission, which will be launched on a Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station. NASA officials have confirmed that this mission remains on track for 12:00 p.m. EST (4:00 p.m. UTC) on Oct. 5 from Launch Complex-39A at Kennedy Space Center.
The crew of four — NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina — have been detained at the Johnson Space Center in Houston awaiting the outcome of Hurricane Ian. However, they will now fly to Florida on Saturday in preparation for the launch.
SpaceX, meanwhile, will roll its Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the launch pad on Friday evening or Saturday, ahead of a static fire test on Sunday. There don’t seem to be any significant technical issues ahead of the launch next Wednesday.
Milky Way 33 & 34
Finally, on October 6, SpaceX is planning an additional launch. For this mission, from Space Launch Complex-40 on Cape Canaveral, a Falcon 9 rocket will launch Intelsat Galaxy 33’s telecommunications satellites and 34 satellites into geosynchronous orbit. The launch is scheduled for 19:07 EST (23:07 UTC).
Of note for this mission, this Falcon 9 first stage booster will make its 14th launch. This is the first time a SpaceX rocket has flown a purely commercial payload on its 10th flight or later. This strongly suggests that the commercial satellite market is getting more comfortable with SpaceX’s refurbishment process for even widely used rockets.
Artemis I
NASA also said on Friday that the Artemis I hardware survived Hurricane Ian just fine, tucked away safely in the large Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center. The agency aims to have the rocket ready for a launch attempt within about six weeks.
“As teams complete post-storm recovery operations, NASA has determined that it will focus Artemis I planning efforts over the launch window that begins Nov. 12 and closes Nov. 27,” NASA said in a blog post. “Over the next few days, managers will assess the scope of work to be performed in the VAB and set a specific date for the next launch attempt.”
In the coming days, engineers and technicians will expand access platforms around the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in the Vehicle Assembly Building to conduct inspections and begin preparation for the next launch attempt, including retesting the flight termination system.
The rocket and spacecraft have been in this fully stacked state for over 11 months, so NASA wants to make sure all the various batteries, stored propellants, and other “life-limited items” on the vehicles are still in good working order before rolling out to the launch pad again. .
