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It was another mission for Trump’s Space Force. However, NASA was also eagerly awaiting the flight. Because?
We have updated the article at 20.20 with information on the good flight.
Twenty-four minutes after midnight, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket was launched from Florida, launching a third-generation GPS satellite into orbit. It promises even more accurate location services.
The contract for the US Space Force was secured by a completely new Falcon 9 missile, precisely because it is a military contract. However, this will change in the future. In September, SpaceX received permission to use the first stage of its missiles, which had previously completed other missions.
The currently deployed 1st stage landed vertically on a self-contained platform in the Atlantic Ocean just eight and a half minutes after takeoff. The satellite itself was launched less than 90 minutes after the Falcon 9 separated from the launch pad.
Official record of the GPS III SV04 mission also with commentary (in English):
On the second attempt
The satellite was supposed to be in orbit by early October, but just two seconds before departure the launch sequence was interrupted.
The reason was the premature ignition of a pair of engines, which SpaceX then had to dismantle and send for testing at its McGregor facility in Texas. Due to the problem, NASA even postponed the first planned abrupt flight of the crewed Crew Dragon module to the International Space Station.
The company of Elona Muska, meanwhile, has revealed the reasons for the automatic interruption of the departure. The turbo pump gas generator safety valves were clogged. As it happened, we are described in more detail in the current article.
The astronauts’ flight is currently scheduled for November 14, but NASA has been looking forward to today’s flight with no problems. She wants to make sure that the complications have been eliminated and that the four-member crew doesn’t face any additional risks.
SpaceX has discovered a problem with two rocket engines for NASA astronauts
Even more precise navigation
The United States is building a new generation of GPS satellite systems. The machine that SpaceX launched today on a journey to a height of 20,000 kilometers above the surface (MEO – medium-high earth orbit) is the fourth of the 32 planned satellites.
The GPS specification currently being released is marked IIIA. In this iteration, there will be the first 10 satellites, the remaining 22 satellites of the constellation will be the IIIF specification.
The new system promises, among other things, three times the accuracy of today’s GPS. The lifespan of individual satellites is 15 years, but even the current ones are used longer than originally planned.
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