Lockheed Martin
Several years ago, one of SpaceX’s first employees, Hans Koenigsmann, told me that one of the company’s goals was to bring out the “magic” of its rocket launches. He explained it was just physics.
As Falcon 9 rockets become more reliable and launch more frequently—18 launches so far this year, and they’re still ongoing—SpaceX seems to have pulled the magic out of its launches. And while reliability should certainly be the goal, such regularity distracts from seeing missile launches.
But there are still some special Falcon 9 missions, and they’re bound to happen with an expected launch at 12:09 am ET (16:09 UTC) Thursday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. With the launch of the next generation GPS III spacecraft, SpaceX will launch a national security mission for the first time with a reused booster.
Last year, SpaceX and SpaceX agreed to a modification contract that would allow the launch of GPS III (Space Vehicle-05) and other (SV-06) missions on a reused Falcon 9 first-stage rocket. The Space Force has agreed to allow the launch of the GPS III satellite to a different orbital perigee, enabling efforts to recover the unmanned ship. The first phase, which is scheduled to launch on Thursday, previously flew the GPS III SV-04 system last November. In exchange for this housing, SpaceX agreed to some additional spacecraft terms for future missions and awarded $52 million to the US government.
This is an important signal from the military that it is willing to use reusable rockets in its most important missions and marks the end of SpaceX as it seeks to encourage the reuse of the early stages of Falcon 9. NASA has launched its most valuable mission, astronauts, in the first stages of use. back with Crew Trip 2 in April.
Thursday’s GPS mission is also a top priority for the Space Force, as it seeks to update its navigational constellation. This new generation of global positioning satellites, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, has three times greater accuracy and eight times higher anti-jamming capabilities than previous versions. The following five GPS satellites, Vehicles 06 to 10, are in various readiness states for launch. Lockheed Martin has been contracted to build up to 22 additional vehicles.
The weather in Thursday’s 15-minute launch window looks reasonable, with only a 30 percent chance of unfavorable conditions. However, the upper level winds may be a concern. The SpaceX webcast embedded below must start 15 minutes before the launch window opens.
SV-05 GPS III mission launch.
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