To me, this is a notable week because of that. First launches might be a little less ready than last ones, so maybe that'll slip a day or two, but we should still see both before the end of the month.
The First is the first launch of a Dragon capsule from SLC-40 at the Cape
Canaveral SFS. This uses the upgrades to the pad that will allow SpaceX to
launch cargo and crewed missions from more than just Pad-39A, which has been
the case up to now. We've been talking about them adding the Crew Access Arm to
SLC-40 for over a year, and they actually
completed adding the arm back in November. This was previously mentioned as the first mission it would support.
This mission is called CRS-30 and it's scheduled for Thursday, March 21 at 4:55 PM ET. SpaceX notes this is the sixth flight for this booster, and the fourth flight for this Dragon spacecraft. Like all of these launches, it gets more coverage than a routine Starlink mission. A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about 20 minutes prior to liftoff and a handful of channels on YouTube will provide coverage as well.
Screen capture from SpaceX's coverage, showing the CRS-30 Dragon capsule. Image credit to SpaceX.
The Last launch will be the last United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy from
Cape Canaveral. That's currently set for No Earlier Than (NET) Thursday March
28, from launch complex 37 or SLC-37. No time is currently given, but
that's not surprising.
The launch is for the National Reconnaissance Office, NRO, and the mission
is called NROL-70.
The last Delta IV launch from Vandenberg SFB was September 24, 2022 and you may remember that SpaceX was then granted a contract for that complex (called SLC-6). The same process may be in motion for SLC-37 here on the Cape, as we reported in February.
The Delta is one of the oldest families of rockets in the world, originally
designed in the crazy early days of the "space race" after the first Sputnik
launch shocked the US. Rockets bearing the Delta name began launching in
1960, and this launch appears to be ending the line - unless someone uses the
name for a new vehicle. The last count I'm aware of would make this the 389th mission bearing the Delta name.
And to think that SpaceX has launched, from June 4, 2010 to March 19, 2024, 386 Falcon 9 launches. (total missions is 388, two were failures.)
ReplyDeleteCompared to 389 missions (not successes, missions) since May 5, 1960. And a 95% success rate.
ULA could have kept developing the Delta line, adding reusability and heavier lifting capability. Evolved it further. But, no, they sat on their butts until SpaceX started eating their lunch and then slow-rolled Vulcan.
One era ends, another starts. So it goes.
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