Launch Roundup: Vega retired after final launch; Polaris Dawn lift off

by Aaron McCrea

This week, rockets will launch from all over the globe. China’s CASC sent a Chang Zheng 4B on its 50th successful mission to start the week. The final launch of Arianespace’s Vega rocket went off without a hitch. Polaris Dawn launched four private astronauts to low-Earth orbit, during which the world’s first private EVA out of Crew Dragon will take place.

Starlink Group 8-11 continued to build SpaceX’s Starlink internet constellation, and then SpaceX launched another round of Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office. Chang Zheng 6 has also taken to the skies, delivering more satellites into the Geely constellation.

Chang Zheng 4B launches Yaogan 43 Group 02 from Xichang SLC on Sep 3 2024 (Credit: CCTV)

Chang Zheng 4B | Yaogan 43 Group 02

A Chang Zheng 4B launched out of LC-3 at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China on Tuesday, Sept. 3 at 01:22 UTC. On board were six more “remote sensing” satellites in the Yaogan 43 Group 02 for the Chinese military which are said to test new technologies of low-orbit constellations. This was Chang Zheng 4B’s 50th successful mission and the third of this year, utilizing the 4.2m diameter fairing for the second time.

Vega | Sentinel-2C

On Thursday, Sept. 5, Arianespace’s Vega rocket launched on its final flight before retirement. Vega lifted off at 01:50 UTC from the Ensemble de Lancement Vega (ELV) pad at the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. This flight slipped one day from the original launch date as an electrical issue at the launch site interrupted preparations for the launch attempt.

This mission carried an Earth observational satellite, Sentinel-2C, to a Sun-synchronous orbit. This was the third of four Sentinel-2 satellites to reach orbit. Once Sentinel-2C and 2D reach orbit, they will replace satellites 2A and 2B, respectively. Sentinel-2C will monitor Earth’s land to watch for natural disasters, and changes in sea ice or forests, as well as monitor ship movement. 

Vega was last launched on Oct. 9, 2023, making this launch the first in nearly 11 months for the rocket. As previously mentioned, this was Vega’s final launch. It will be completely replaced by the already-flying Vega-C, which is an upgraded variant of the Vega rocket. 

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 8-11

The only Starlink mission this week launched on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 11:33 AM EDT (15:33 UTC) from SLC-40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS). This follows a scrub just over a minute before launch during its first attempt on Sept. 4 due to unfavorable weather conditions in the Atlantic for the booster recovery and a delay only hours before liftoff due to weather around SLC-40. Falcon 9 took a batch of Starlink v2 Mini satellites on a northeastern trajectory, where they were delivered to a low-Earth orbit inclined by 53 degrees. Some of these Starlink satellites are equipped with direct-to-cell capabilities.

The booster taking Falcon 9 to orbit is B1077 flying for its 15th flight. Autonomous droneship Just Read the Instruction was downrange for the booster landing on this mission. With the successful landing of B1077 and after the loss of B1062 last week, SpaceX will be looking to regain its numbers on recovery attempts without failure. This was SpaceX’s 86th launch of 2024. 

Falcon 9 launches Starlink satellites from Vandenberg on Aug. 31. (Credit: SpaceX)

Chang Zheng 6 | Geely Constellation Group 03

CASC launched its second rocket this week on a mission out of LC-16 at the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center in China. A Chang Zheng 6 delivered 10 payloads to orbit on Thursday, Sept. 5, at 18:30 UTC. This was Chang Zheng 6’s fifth mission of this year and 20th mission of all time. On board were satellites for Chinese car manufacturer Geely Automotive which will support autonomous driving vehicles communications.

Falcon 9 Block 5 | NROL-113

SpaceX launched Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Falcon 9 launched at 8:20 PM PDT on Thursday, Sept. 5 (03:20 UTC on Sept. 6), and flew on a southeastern trajectory to put 21 Starshield satellites into an orbit inclined 70 degrees.

The booster for this mission was B1063 on its 20th flight, the previous of which was for the Starlink Group 9-3 mission which experienced a problem on the second stage, resulting in the satellites failing to make their intended orbit. The booster also supported the DART mission, Transporter 7, Iridium-9 and OneWeb 19, amongst others including 14 Starlink missions dating back to early batches containing 60 v1 satellites. Following stage separation, the booster landed on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You while the second stage continued onward to deliver the Starshield satellites into low-Earth orbit.

Not much information has been given about the capabilities of Starshield satellites due to involvement with the United States government’s national defense. The satellites on this flight are believed to have imaging payloads built by Northrop Grumman.

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Polaris Dawn

The Polaris Dawn mission took four private astronauts to low-Earth orbit for one of the most groundbreaking spaceflight missions this year. Commander Jared Issacman, pilot Scott Poteet, and mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon spent five days in a Crew Dragon spacecraft as they reached higher than any human has gone in space since Apollo.

Launching from historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the mission was originally scheduled to launch last week but was forced to scrub due to unfavorable weather in the recovery zones. Polaris Dawn launched on Sept. 10.

In orbit, the Polaris Dawn crew conducted multiple research activities, including investigating human health during long-duration spaceflight, Starlink laser communication between spacecraft, and the performance of SpaceX’s brand new EVA suit during an EVA, where Crew Dragon was completely depressurized and opened to the vacuum of space.

For more on the Polaris Dawn mission, check out NSF’s dedicated launch article.

(Lead image: Falcon 9 launches a Starlink mission from Florida with Polaris Dawn on the pad at LC-39A. Credit: SpaceX/Ben Cooper)

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