So finally we have another Falcon 9 launch tomorrow, Friday at 12.45 pm NSW time. SPACEX | NUSANTARA SATU (PSN VI),
Interesting facts about this mission. The F9 booster will be making it's 3rd launch and the cargo is 3 spacecraft. The first is an Indonesian telecomms satellite and the 2nd is an experimental satellite. The final and most interesting payload is an Israeli moon lander. The first time Isreal has launched to the moon and it will be the first spacecraft to land on the moon that is launched from a private company. Mr Steven has also come over from the west coast to make another attampt at catching a fairing.
SpaceX will be launching the Nusantara Satu telecommunications satellite, aka PSN IV, for Indonesian telecommunications company PT Pasifik Satelit Nusantara. The Space System Loral built satellite will ride to a geostationary transfer orbit atop a Block 5 Falcon 9 rocket. Nusantara Satu is equipped with 26 C-Band, 12 Extended C-Band and 8 Ku-Band spot beam transponders. The satellite will be located at an orbital position of 146 east and provide broadband voice, data and video service to the Indonesia archipelago.
Two additional payloads will be riding to space as part of the GTO-1 rideshare mission, organized by Spaceflight, Inc. The first payload is the experimental S5 satellite built by L3 Applied Defense Solutions on a Blue Canyon Technologies microsat bus for the US Air Force Research Lab. It will test the feasibility of using microsat constellation for space situational awareness and updates to the GEO space catalog.
The final payload is the Beresheet Moon lander built by SpaceIL. SpaceIL is an Israeli team that was competing in the $30 million dollar Google Lunar X Prize. The contest came to an end on January 23, 2018 when it was determined that none of the teams would be able to launch by the March 30, 2018 extended deadline.
Ater its deployed from the second stage of the Falcon 9, Beresheet will slowly raise its orbit over the course of 40 days until its captured by the Moons gravity. It will then begin to orbit the moon and slowly lower its orbit over a 6 day period until it reaches a 15 km perilune over its landing site at Mare Serenitatis. If all goes according to plan, the lander will touchdown on the surface of the moon at 15:30 UTC on April 11th.
Following stage separation, SpaceX will be attempting to recover the first stage booster of the Falcon 9 by landing it on the Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship, Of Course I Still Love You (OCISLY). Additionally, they will be attempting to catch a fairing. SpaceXs fairing catching ship, Mr Steven, recently transitioned from the west coast to the east coast. This will be the first attempt to catch a fairing for a launch from Florida.
Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, will be livestreaming this launch starting at T minus 30 minutes. So come ask questions and join the conversation live! If you want the best way to know when a launch is coming, Id suggest downloading the SpaceXNow OR Launch Alarm apps to stay in the know!
