SpaceX, Vandenberg - Falcon 9 - WorldView Legion - Weds., May 1, 11:30 AM PT

[Pinto]

SpaceX - Falcon 9 - WorldView Legion 1 & 2
Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4E)
Vandenberg Space Force Base
California

Wednesday, April 24 Thursday April 2t, 11:30 AM PT TBD Wednesday, May 1, 11:30 AM PT

Launch NET 25 April 2024 at 18:30 UTC (11:30 am PDT).

SpaceX will launch two satellites for Maxar, the WorldView Legion 1 & 2 satellites.
The launch is scheduled for Wednesday, April 24, 11:30 a.m. PDT, 2:30 p.m. EDT, 18:30 UTC, and 20:30 CEST from SLC-4E of the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

After stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster will make a land landing (land-to-land-landing) at the Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at the Vandenberg Space Force Base.

WorldView Legion is a planned series of high-resolution earth observation satellites from the US company Maxar Technologies. They are intended to replace the capacities of the WorldView-1, WorldView-2, and GeoEye-1 satellites.

SSL (formerly Space Systems/Loral), a subsidiary of Maxar, is building the satellites. Raytheon, a subsidiary of RTX Corporation, will provide the cameras. The satellites will be able to record panchromatic resolutions of up to 0.29 meters. Images with resolutions of up to 1.16 m should be possible on a multispectral level. The satellites can photograph the exact locations up to 40 times a day.

A total of two satellites will operate in a polar orbit and four satellites in a sun-synchronous orbit.

Maxar launch livestream will begin 20 min prior to liftoff - https://youtu.be/q5hf7QpVB_w

[Pinto]

Postponed to tomorrow -

Launch NET 25 April 2024 at 18:30 UTC (11:30 am PDT).

[sigfan91]

Not to hijack the thread, but did you start a thread on Starship flight test #3 last time?  I dont remember anything in OT and had to find out about it through MSN portal.

Will you start a thread on flight test #4?  I think its coming up soon.

[SandiegoPoopButt619]

Not to hijack the thread, but did you start a thread on Starship flight test #3 last time?  I dont remember anything in OT and had to find out about it through MSN portal.

Will you start a thread on flight test #4?  I think its coming up soon.

I don't wanna miss that one!!

[Pinto]

Not to hijack the thread, but did you start a thread on Starship flight test #3 last time?  I dont remember anything in OT and had to find out about it through MSN portal.

Will you start a thread on flight test #4?  I think its coming up soon.

I believe I did but don't specifically recall. I do try to keep up because it is still amazing to me but if I'm away from computer/interwebz I could miss something. Starship would be one I make sure not to miss.

Flight Test 4 looks like sometime in May,  Here's a good article on the preparation and plans - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/04/ift-4-prepares-starships-future-focus/

Excerpt:

SpaceX has been planning for as many as nine Starship flights this year, as per the FAAs Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Kelvin Coleman. IFT-4 would be the second Starship flight of 2024, while five Starship flights per year are currently allowed from Boca Chica after the final programmatic environmental assessment for the site was passed in mid-2022. The company has applied for a waiver from the FAA.

The time between Starship launches has shortened from nearly seven months between IFT-1 and IFT-2 to just under four months between IFT-2 to IFT-3, while Booster 11s static test firing took place just 22 days after Booster 10 launched from the OLM on March 14. IFT-4 is being targeted for sometime in May, and could fly just two months after IFT-3.

[Pinto]

Launch postponed with no reschedule date. Unknown reason but this mission has been plagued with delays. Some speculation another four days but no confirmation from SpaceX.

[Pinto]

Last Update: Rescheduled for NET May 1 per marine navigation warnings.