Update 7:23 p.m. ET: SpaceX’s B1067 launch vehicle has landed the unmanned, “Just Read the Instructions” spacecraft.
SpaceX has launched its latest pair of Galileo spacecraft For the European Union’s navigation satellite system.
This was the second time Galileo satellites were launched from U.S. soil, following the so-called L-12 mission, which flew on another Falcon 9 rocket in April 2024. The L-13 mission launched from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Station at 6:50 p.m. EST (2250 GMT).
The deployment is expected to take place a little over 3.5 hours after liftoff.
Prior to the rocket’s launch, the 45th Meteorological Squadron predicted that there was only a 40% chance of favorable weather for liftoff. The weather risk that could affect the rocket’s recovery was rated as “moderate” on a scale of low to moderate to high.
“There are several factors influencing the weather this week,” meteorologists wrote. “First, a low pressure area circulating off the coast of the southeastern United States will gradually move toward shore near South Carolina by Tuesday afternoon. This circulation pattern, along with several upper-level vortex waves, will help generate closely spaced bands of clouds and associated rain that will circulate across most of Florida through Tuesday.”
“In addition, we expect a west coast sea breeze to make its way across Florida near the spaceport Tuesday afternoon, increasing the chances of showers and thunderstorms.”
The Falcon 9 first-stage booster supporting this mission, tail number B1067 in the SpaceX fleet, launched for the 22nd time. It has previously supported two astronaut missions to the International Space Station (Crew-3 and Crew-4), two cargo missions to the ISS (CRS-22 and CRS-25), and 12 Starlink missions.
About 8.5 minutes after liftoff, the B1067 spacecraft landed on SpaceX’s unmanned, “read the instructions” ship. That was a departure from the flight profile when SpaceX launched the Galileo satellites in April.
“During the Galileo L12 mission earlier this year, the Falcon 9 booster was expanded to provide the additional performance needed to deliver the payload to orbit,” SpaceX wrote on its website ahead of the launch. “Data from that mission informed subtle design and operational changes, including mass reductions and trajectory adjustments, that will allow us to safely recover and reuse this booster.”
While SpaceX has said it is fully committed to recovering B1067, the company has been hedging its bets ahead of the launch.
“The booster’s reentry trajectory will result in higher temperatures and dynamic pressures on the booster than many historical landings. While reentry conditions are higher than previous missions, they are still acceptable,” SpaceX wrote before the launch. “This landing attempt will test the limits of recovery, giving us valuable data on the vehicle’s design in these high entry conditions.”
“This in turn will help us innovate in future vehicle designs to make our vehicles more robust and rapidly reusable as we expand into more challenging reentry conditions.”
Falcon 9 first stage lands on ‘Just Read the Instructions’ drone ship pic.twitter.com/YhH3fP7svM
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 17, 2024
Galileo’s expansion
The Galileo satellites, named FOC FM26 and FM32, are managed and operated by the European Union Space Programme Agency (EUSPA) on behalf of the European Union. The name FOC stands for Fully Operational Capability. Despite the names, these are the 31st and 32nd satellites to be launched as part of the operational constellation.
Earlier this month, EUSPA confirmed that the L12 satellites had completed their orbital commissioning and officially joined the constellation on September 5. The satellites are in medium Earth orbit at an altitude of about 23,200 kilometers (14,416 miles) above the Earth.
“These two new satellites reinforce Galileo’s position as the world’s most accurate positioning system,” said EUSPA Executive Director Rodrigo da Costa in a statement. “With the close collaboration between the European Commission, EUSPA and ESA, Galileo goes beyond satellites; it is a testament to our united dedication to innovation, security and progress. Each addition not only improves availability and navigation power for over 4 billion users, but also creates new market opportunities for European companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs.”
Each satellite weighs 2.3 tons (4,600 pounds) and has an expected lifespan of 15 years, according to manufacturer Airbus.
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