The Falcon Heavy mission and the Soyuz return are the focus points of today’s roundup:<\/p>\n
** SpaceX<\/a><\/strong>:<\/p>\n *** The countdown is proceeding for the Falcon Heavy liftoff tonight<\/strong> for the complex STP-2 mission<\/a>. The four hour launch window opens at 11:30 pm EDT (0330 GMT on 25th). The weather forecast shows an 80% chance of acceptable conditions for launch during the window. The SpaceX webcast<\/a> will begin about 20 minutes before the liftoff time. NASA TV<\/a> coverage will start at 11:00 pm EDT.<\/span><\/p>\n Updates to check as the window approaches:<\/p>\n The mission events time line is given in the SpaceX Press Kit (pdf)<\/a>. SpaceX will attempt to recover all 3 boosters:<\/p>\n Falcon Heavy\u2019s side boosters for the STP-2 mission previously supported the Arabsat-6A mission in April 2019. Following booster separation, Falcon Heavy\u2019s two side boosters will attempt to land at SpaceX\u2019s Landing Zones 1 and 2 (LZ-1 and LZ-2) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Falcon Heavy\u2019s center core will attempt to land on the \u201cOf Course I Still Love You\u201d droneship, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/em><\/p>\n There is also a ship sent to capture in a net and\/or drag from the sea the two fairing halves of the nosecone.<\/p>\n Liftoff through final deployment will span over 3.5 hours and include 3 in-orbit firings of the second stage engine.<\/p>\n The STP-2 mission will use a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle to perform 20 commanded deployment actions and place 24 separate spacecraft in three different orbits. The spacecraft include the Air Force Research Laboratory Demonstration and Science Experiments (DSX) satellite; the NOAA-sponsored Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC-2) constellation; four NASA experiments; and many other missions.<\/em><\/p>\n After about 7 hours, the second stage will be “passivated”, which includes dumping any remaining fuel to avoid any chance the stage would explode and increase debris in low earth orbit. Eventually the stage will de-orbit into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n Some photos of the FH on the pad:<\/p>\n #SpaceX<\/a> #FalconHeavy<\/a> with #STP2<\/a> on Launch Complex 39A in preparation for its first night launch. Currently, launch is targeted for 11:30pm EDT tonight. See photos like this and more by signing up for @NASASpaceflight<\/a> L2 https:\/\/t.co\/f6P9xPvBEp<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/XFlElKnxLH<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nathan Barker (@NASA_Nerd) June 24, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
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