SpaceX launches satellite for Argentina into polar orbit

SpaceX launched a satellite for Argentina's space agency from Florida on Sunday evening that will monitor weather and agricultural conditions.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off with the SAOCOM 1B satellite at 7:18 p.m. EDT from Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Clouds that had threatened a delay cleared right before launch time.

The Argentine mission was the first polar orbit launch from Cape Canaveral in more than 50 years. To reach that orbit, the rocket headed south over the Atlantic Ocean. Most other launches from Florida fly east.

The Falcon 9 passed over Cuba, and the first stage booster flew back to near the launch complex and touched down on land.

Argentina's satellite had been scheduled for launch in March, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Argentine agency, known as CONAE for the Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (National Commission of Space Activities).

The launch had been set for Friday night, but another planned launch - United Launch Alliance's rocket carrying a U.S. spy satellite - bumped the Argentine mission to Sunday.

The spy satellite launch, however, was aborted three seconds before liftoff early Saturday morning. ULA said it would take at least a week to ready the rocket for another attempt.

The first of two SAOCOM satellites went into orbit in October 2018. According to the mission description for the program, the satellite's data on soil moisture "will help producers know the best time for sowing, fertilizing and irrigation, in crops such as soybeans, corn, wheat and sunflower."

Source: United Press International


Related Links
SpaceX
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once
credit card or paypal


ROCKET SCIENCE
SpaceX sets rocket booster reuse record in satellite launch
Washington DC (UPI) Aug 18, 2019
SpaceX reused the same first-stage Falcon 9 rocket booster for the sixth time in a launch from Florida Tuesday morning, setting a record for the launch industry. The rocket carried 58 of the company's Starlink satellites into space, along with three small Earth-imaging SkySat satellites for San Francisco-based Planet (formerly Planet Labs). The rocket lifted off as planned at 10:31 a.m. EDT into a partly cloudy sky from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, adjacent to K ... read more

Let's block ads! (Why?)



from Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense https://ift.tt/31FXKoz
via space News
SpaceX launches satellite for Argentina into polar orbit SpaceX launches satellite for Argentina into polar orbit Reviewed by Unknown on 20:50:00 Rating: 5

No comments:

Defense Alert. Powered by Blogger.