SpaceX launches European Commission Galileo satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX launched the latest pair of Galileo spacecraft for the European Union's navigation satellite constellation.

The mission marked the second time Galileo satellites will be launched from U.S. soil, following the so-called L12 mission, which flew on another Falcon 9 rocket in 2014. April 2024Liftoff for the L13 mission from Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station occurred at 6:50 p.m. EDT (2250 UTC).

Deployment occurred just over 3.5 hours after liftoff.

Heading into launch, the 45th Weather Squadron forecast only a 40 percent chance of favorable weather conditions at liftoff. The meteorological risk of rocket recovery was also rated as “moderate” on a scale of low-moderate-high.

“Several factors are influencing this week’s weather. Primarily, a rotating low pressure area off the southeastern U.S. coast will gradually move onshore near South Carolina Tuesday afternoon,” forecasters wrote. “This circulation pattern, along with several upper-level vorticity waves, will help generate converging bands of clouds and associated showers that will rotate across most of Florida through Tuesday.”

“In addition, marine convection from the West Coast is expected to make its way across Florida and approach Spaceport on Tuesday afternoon, further increasing the chances for showers and thunderstorms.”

The Falcon 9 first-stage rocket supporting this mission, tail number B1067 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for the 22nd time. It previously supported two astronaut missions to the International Space Station (Crew-3 and Crew-4), two cargo missions to the ISS (CRS-22 and CRS-25), and 12 Starlink missions.

About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1067 landed on SpaceX's unmanned Just Read the Instructions spacecraft. This marked a change from the flight profile it followed when SpaceX launched the Galileo satellites in April.

“During the Galileo L12 mission earlier this year, the Falcon 9 rocket was boosted to provide the additional performance needed to deliver the payload to orbit,” SpaceX wrote on its website ahead of the launch. “Data from that mission informed subtle changes to the design and operation, including mass reductions and trajectory adjustments, that will allow us to safely recover and reuse this rocket.”

While SpaceX said it had every intention of recovering B1067, the company hedged its bets before liftoff.

“The booster reentry trajectory will result in greater heating and higher dynamic pressure on the booster than many of our historical landings. While reentry conditions are at the high end of previous missions, they are still acceptable,” SpaceX wrote ahead of launch. “This landing attempt will test the limits of recovery, providing us with valuable data on vehicle design under these elevated entry conditions.”

“This, in turn, will help us innovate future vehicle designs to make them more robust and rapidly reusable, while expanding to more challenging reentry conditions.”

Galileo Expansion

The Galileo satellites designated FOC FM26 and FM32 are managed and operated by the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) on behalf of the EU. The FOC designation refers to the satellite series with full operational capability. Despite the designations, these will be the 31st and 32nd satellites launched to form part of the operational constellation.

Earlier this month, EUSPA confirmed that the L12 satellites had completed their in-orbit commissioning and officially joined the constellation on 5 September. The satellites are in medium Earth orbit at around 23,200 km (14,416 mi) above the Earth.

“These two new satellites reinforce Galileo’s position as the world’s most accurate positioning system,” EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa said in a statement. “Thanks to the close collaboration between the European Commission, EUSPA and ESA, Galileo goes beyond satellites – it is a testament to our joint dedication to innovation, safety and progress. Each new addition not only improves the availability and robustness of navigation for over 4 billion users, but also reinforces new market opportunities for European businesses, SMEs and entrepreneurs.”

The satellites weigh 2.3 tons (4,600 pounds) each and have an estimated lifespan of 15 years, according to the manufacturer, Airbus.