SpaceX Returns to Flight, Launches Europe's Hera

I was shocked when I saw that SpaceX was listed as set to launch from Cape Canaveral this morning. I've been watching the reliable news sources to see if they've been given a reprieve by the FAA, which clamped down on the company after they announced they were voluntarily grounding the Falcon 9 while they troubleshot the problem encountered on the Crew-9 mission a week ago. I haven't seen any articles about what they've found or saying the FAA has completely cleared them to launch, though. Nevertheless, they launched this morning at 10:52 EDT from SLC-40 and the mission seemed as routine and successful as any we've ever observed.  With the local weather preventing seeing anything, we watched the launch on NASASpaceflight. 

Screen capture from the SpaceX video, with some stretching of levels since the original was darkened by the camera's auto exposure. 

Hera is an interesting mission, described using words I've never seen in a serious sentence before: it's a planetary defense mission. From SpaceX:

Hera is a planetary defense mission that will study the impact NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission spacecraft had on the Dimorphos asteroid, which Falcon 9 launched in November 2021. Hera will provide valuable data for future asteroid deflection missions and science to help humanity’s understanding of asteroid geophysics as well as solar system formation and evolutionary processes.

An interesting side note to this mission was that it flew booster B1061 on its 23rd mission. The required orbital performance of the mission consumed the fuel that would ordinarily be used to land, so B1061 was disposed of. More like, well, everybody else's launch vehicles, not a Falcon 9.

"Farewell, 1061, and we thank you," SpaceX's John Insprucker, principal integration engineer, said to the booster after stage separation.

As has been talked about before, SpaceX developed the booster recovery and refurbishment technologies on their own Starlink missions, and very experienced boosters like 1061 don't tend to get used on "paying customer's" flights - especially since 23 flights is currently what the fleet leaders have flown. This seems to indicate a growing confidence in and acceptance of these refurbished boosters among customers.

The $398 million (363 million Euro)  Hera spacecraft, accompanied by two smaller cubesats called named Milani and Juventas, is scheduled to arrive at Dimorphos in late 2026 to look at DART's work up close. On the way, Hera will swing by Mars in 2025 to nab a gravity assist for its asteroid trip.

The NASA mission shortened Dimorphos' orbit by 33 minutes and may have changed the shape of the little moon as well.

Hera will look at the depth and size of the crater that DART gouged out on Dimorphos and confirm the impact's changes on the moon, if any, against early simulations. 

The two cubesats, meanwhile, will examine the structure of Dimorphos along with its surface minerals and gravity, all of which will help to refine models.

An artist's impression of Hera, and two cubesats, named Jethro and Bodine, - no... just checking if you were really reading - named Juventas and Milani, which will assist Hera in its study of Didymos and Dimorphos. (Image credit: ESA/Science Office)

Space.com noted that SpaceX launched after receiving authorization from the FAA, "to resume flights after an anomaly last week." They didn't mention if this was a one-time approval, perhaps because of it being a European Space Agency mission, or if they're going to resume regular operations.  Checking NextSpaceflight, it appears they're resuming regular operations.

The Falcon Heavy launch of NASA's Europa Clipper had been scheduled for Thursday, October 10th. That's pretty much the worst day of Hurricane Milton over here on the Space Coast. The five day forecast plots have moved the point projected to be where the storm goes back offshore farther north, but it appears to be over Playalinda Beach just north of the KSC.  The vehicle and payload will have to be rolled back to their integration facility for safety.  The currently listed date and time is Saturday, October 12th at 12:19 PM EDT.

The real surprise is they list the Starship 5 Flight Test as this coming Sunday, Oct 13, at 8:00 AM EDT