After days of uncertainty, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Sunday that SpaceX has been authorized to move forward with Monday’s planned launch of the European Space Agency’s $398 million Hera asteroid probe, if weather stormy weather permits.
With forecasters predicting an 85% chance of thick clouds and showers triggering a delay, Hera’s launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Pad 40 of the Cape Canaveral space station is scheduled for 10 52 p.m. EDT Monday. The forecast is 75% “no-go” if the launch is postponed until Tuesday.
“The last obstacle is the weather. So please, please, I need you to do something!” Hera project manager Ian Carnelli joked with reporters on Sunday. “That’s the one thing I really can’t control. … It looks like we have some openness at launch, but it’s really impossible to tell right now.”
ESA
Hurricane MiltonMeanwhile, poses a threat throughout the week as the cyclone should cross the Florida peninsula Wednesday and move over the Atlantic Ocean near Florida’s Space Coast.
The launch of NASA’s $5.2 billion Europa Clipper mission, which was scheduled for Thursday from the Kennedy Space Center, was suspended pending the passage of the storm.
“The safety of launch crew personnel is our top priority, and every precaution will be taken to protect the Europa Clipper spacecraft,” said Tim Dunn, senior launch manager for NASA’s Launch Services program.
“Once we have the green light, followed by an assessment of the facilities and any recovery measures, we will determine the next launch opportunity.”
Similarly, the return to Earth of three astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon ferry was delayed due to forecasted bad weather.
Crew 8 Commander Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, launched to the International Space Station last March. They planned to undock on Monday and return to Earth to cap a 217-day mission.
National Weather Service
But NASA announced Sunday that its departure would be postponed until at least Thursday due to forecasted bad weather. Crew Dragon ferries require calm winds and seas in the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean to allow safe landing.
As for the Falcon 9, the FAA authorization only applied to the Hera launch while the agency continues to oversee an investigation into the causes of a Falcon 9 second stage malfunction on September 28 and the failure of its targeted re-entry point into Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. .
SpaceX regularly sends spent second stages into the atmosphere for destructive breakups at the end of their missions to avoid possible collisions or other problems that could add to the space debris already in low Earth orbit.
The FAA wants to ensure that the problem is understood and corrected so that future reentries are carried out as planned, ensuring that any debris that survives reentry heating will harmlessly splash into the targeted ocean impact “footprints” far away. shipping lanes and populated areas.
The second stage used for the Hera mission will propel the space probe into deep space, using all of its propellant. It will not return to Earth, so a malfunction, if one occurs, would pose no security threat.
“The FAA has determined that the absence of a second reentry stage for this mission adequately mitigates the primary risk to the public in the event of a repeat of the accident that occurred with the Crew-9 mission,” the statement said. agency in a press release, referring to the most recent Falcon 9 flight.
NASA
“Safety will determine the FAA’s timeline for completing its review of the SpaceX Crew 9 accident investigation report and when the agency will clear the Falcon 9 to resume normal operations,” the statement concluded. .
The FAA on Thursday did not address plans to launch the Europa Clipper atop a Falcon Heavy rocket for its long-awaited mission to Jupiter and its ice-covered moon, Europa.
As with the Hera mission, the Clipper upper stage, the same one used for all Falcon family rockets, will not return to Earth. Instead, it will burn all of its propellants to accelerate the probe to an Earth escape velocity of 25,000 mph.
But FAA clearance, assuming it comes in time, will likely be a moot point, at least in the short term. The Clipper and its Falcon Heavy rocket are unlikely to be moved to the Kennedy Space Center launch pad before Milton passes through the area.
