TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
Falcon 9 Block 4
SpaceX
Weather Forecast During Launch
According to weather officials, there’s a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch.
Mission
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
- Type: Astrophysics
- Orbit: High Earth Orbit
- Launch Cost: $50,000,000
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a NASA space telescope, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method. TESS will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, orbiting a wide range of stellar types and orbital distances. The principal goal of the TESS mission is to detect small planets with bright host stars in the solar neighborhood, so that detailed characterizations of the planets and their atmospheres can be performed.
Location
Space Launch Complex 40
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
Space Launch Complex 40 has witnessed the launch of 230 rockets, including 230 orbital launch attempts, while Cape Canaveral, FL, USA, has been the site for 940 rocket launches.
Rocket
SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 4
The Full Thrust variants first stage includes all systems necessary for an operational re-use of stages while the second stage is operated as an expendable rocket stage.
Landing
Core B1045
Booster B1045 last launched 06/29/2018 and has seen 1 successful launches and landings. Stage Expended
Of Course I Still Love You – OCISLY
The second ASDS barge, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY) services launches in the Pacific Ocean and was the site of the first landing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 first stage during CRS-8, the launch of a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station.
Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship – ASDS
An autonomous spaceport drone ship (ASDS) is an ocean-going vessel derived from a deck barge, outfitted with station-keeping engines and a large landing platform. Construction of such ships was commissioned by aerospace company SpaceX to allow for recovery of rocket first-stages at sea for high-velocity missions which do not carry enough fuel to return to the launch site after lofting spacecraft onto an orbital trajectory.
Agency
SpaceX
Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.
