SAOCOM 1B
Falcon 9 Block 5
SpaceX
Weather Forecast During Launch
According to weather officials, there’s a 40% chance of favorable weather conditions at the time of the launch.
Mission
SAOCOM 1B
- Type: Communications
- Orbit: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
- Launch Cost: $52,000,000
The SAOCOM 1B spacecraft is the second of the two SAOCOM constellation satellites. It is tasked with hydrology and land observation, and will also operate jointly with the Italian COSMO-SkyMed constellation in X-band to provide frequent information relevant for emergency management.
Two rideshare payloads are present – Tyvak-0172 and PlanetiQ’s GNOMES-1.
Location
Space Launch Complex 40
Cape Canaveral, FL, USA
Space Launch Complex 40 has witnessed the launch of 232 rockets, including 232 orbital launch attempts, while Cape Canaveral, FL, USA, has been the site for 942 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 B1059
Booster B1059 last launched 02/16/2021 and has seen 5 successful launches and landings. Exploded upon ocean impact a safe distance from OCISLY
Landing Zone 1 – LZ-1
LZ-1 Pad located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at the previous LC-13
Return to Launch Site – RTLS
A return to launch site usually means that after stage separation the booster flips and does a burn back towards the launch site, landing near where it initially launched from.
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.
