Iridium-8
Falcon 9 Block 5
SpaceX
Weather Forecast During Launch
According to weather officials, there’s a 60% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch.
Mission
Iridium-8
- Type: Communications
- Orbit: Polar Orbit
- Launch Cost: $52,000,000
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium, a global leader in mobile voice and data satellite communications. This is the eighth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium NEXT.
Location
Space Launch Complex 4E
Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Space Launch Complex 4E has witnessed the launch of 162 rockets, including 162 orbital launch attempts, while Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA, has been the site for 774 rocket launches.
Rocket
SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5
Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.
Landing
Core B1049
Booster B1049 last launched 11/23/2022 and has seen 10 successful launches and landings. Stage Expended
Just Read the Instructions – JRTI
Third (Marmac 303) ASDS barge, Just Read the Instructions (JRTI) is currently used to recover Falcon 9 and Heavy boosters in the Altantic Ocean.
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.
