Breaking into the thirty first week of 2023, from July 31 to Aug. 6, not much is held in store by way of launches. Up first this week — following an aborted launch attempt last week — Rocket Lab will launch Capella Space’s Acadia satellite to a mid-inclination low-earth orbit. Later, a momentous flight will happen, when the last Antares 230+ will fly to low-Earth orbit (LEO) through the NG-19 resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
Following barely greater than a day later, a Chang Zheng 4C carrying the Fengyun-3F meteorological satellite will take to the skies from Jiuquan, China. Shortly after that, it can be the turn of a Falcon 9 transporting Maxar-built Galaxy 37 inside its fairing. It should be deployed right into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), with the satellite reaching a geostationary orbit (GEO) by itself.
Electron — “We Love The Nightlife”
After signing a cope with Rocket Lab in February of this 12 months, the corporate will launch its first mission for Capella Space’s Acadia satellite constellation. Following an aborted launch attempt on July 30 attributable to low igniter pressure in an engine, the Electron is currently scheduled to lift off from Launch Complex 1B, on the Mahiah Peninsula, in Latest Zealand, on Friday, Aug. 4, at 05:00 UTC.
Low igniter pressure on one engine. It didn’t pass it’s Go test and an auto abort was called. Its not unusual to see low pressures on occasion, we just haven’t seen it result in an abort for some time. My bet is a difficult pressure transducer. The team will sort it quickly. https://t.co/CWyWTMxkug
— Peter Beck (@Peter_J_Beck) July 30, 2023
Electron will place the one satellite right into a 640-kilometer circular mid-inclination orbit in what can be the primary of 4 launches by Rocket Lab for the Acadia synthetic aperture radar (SAR) constellation — an Earth-imaging constellation slated to supply increased imaging capability and higher communications connectivity for patrons. These satellites are designed, manufactured, and operated by Capella Space.
Antares 230+ — CRS2 NG-19, S.S. Laurel Clark
As has been mentioned, the launch vehicle will lift off from Wallops Flight Facility hauling cargo for crew and equipment in orbit, under a second industrial resupply services (CRS) contract NASA granted Northrop Grumman in 2016.
Liftoff is predicted to occur at 8:31 AM EDT on Aug. 1 (00:31 UTC on Aug. 2). Once the rocket completes all phases of flight, Cygnus S.S. Laurel Clark can be in a 165 by 309-kilometer orbit, inclined by 51.64 degrees. Two days later, Canadarm2 on the ISS should capture the freighter at 9:55 UTC on Aug. 4.
Ship Laurel Clark travels loaded with north of three,700 kilograms of an assortment of products, including items for over 40 experiments, in addition to food, consumables, and hardware, just like the exploration portable water dispenser. A definitive cargo manifest has not yet been made public, because it might be being finalized.
On the science side of this mission, some experiments will see their capabilities augmented, just like the flow boiling condensate experiment and the cold atom lab. Saffire-VI will set on fire sample materials contained in the Cygnus once it unberths and before deorbiting. A multi-needle Langmuir probe will characterize plasma outside the hull of the station.
Regarding the rocket, Northrop Grumman’s Antares will bid farewell to its 200-series. The breakout of the armed conflict in February 2022 signified an end to the provision of Ukrainian first stages and Russian first stage RD-181 engines. A backlog of them allowed them to proceed with the NG-18 and the NG-19 mission. Nevertheless, taking measures was needed when facing the long run.
72-hour Weather Forecast 🌤️
The Wallops Range weather office is predicting an 80% likelihood of favorable conditions, with cumulus clouds being the essential concerns for the Antares launch window Aug. 1 at 8:31 p.m. EDT.
Read more on our blog: https://t.co/327eZJfTPp pic.twitter.com/VLfYDWJu0K
— NASA Wallops (@NASA_Wallops) July 29, 2023
Consequently, the corporate purchased three Falcon 9 rides for its Cygnus spacecraft. This shouldn’t be the primary time for the cargo ship: ULA’s Atlas V took care of three of those launches after the Antares 130 failure. Concurrently, Northrop has also announced its partnering with Firefly Aerospace, which is able to provide recent first stages and engines.
Provided no delays arise, Antares 330 should debut in October 2024. For the last time, the expendable, two-stage medium-lift Antares 230+ will rise, riding on close to three,850 kilonewtons of thrust by two RD-181 engines. These run on rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX), while the second stage Castor 30XL uses solid QDL-1 propellant.
The launch vehicle is 42.5 meters tall, 3.9 meters in diameter, and much 285 tonnes for liftoff. Summing up its different configurations’ capabilities, it might launch as much as 8,000 kilograms of payload to a LEO, 3,000 kilograms to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO), and 1,600 kilograms to an Earth-escape trajectory.
At 3:55 UTC on Aug. 3, a Chang Zheng 4C (CZ-4C) provided by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation will try to orbit the Fengyun-3F (FY-3F) weather satellite. It’s price noting that there isn’t a complete certainty about this payload, but stage drop zones were found to match previous FY-3 launches.
Once within the targeted SSO, the current Fengyun will replace FY-3C residing within the morning orbit. Developed by the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology (SAST), this spacecraft masses 2,250 kilograms and is predicted to last three to 4 years. The FY-3F procures electrical power using a single solar panel and batteries and must be lofted onto a circular 800-kilometer orbit, inclined by 98.8 degrees. Its suite of instruments comprises a complete of 10, two of that are recent developments, while one other three are upgraded versions.
FY-3 satellites embody the second generation of polar-orbiting meteo-sats, with the 3F expected to be dedicated to atmospheric probing, weather forecasting, and climate change monitoring. If the CZ-4C successfully fulfills its task, China could have launched 20 FY satellites of two generations, out of which eight will still be operational, orbiting Earth.
![](https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FA4A442A-C9AA-498F-A972-F98A2E965885-scaled.jpeg)
Chang Zheng 4C climbs toward orbit with Ziyuan-1 02E
The CZ-4C is the most recent addition to the CZ-4 family, with its first flight in 2006. Its development and manufacture fell under the sphere of SAST, and its services are mainly oriented toward launching into SSO. It’s an expendable three-stage, medium-lift rocket powered by: a YF-21C engine on stage one, a YF-24E on stage two, and two YF-40Cs on stage three. All of those engines run on hypergolic propellants, a particular sign of the old CZ launchers.
Standing 47.98 meters tall, with a maximum diameter of three.35 meters, the Chang Zheng 4C liftoff mass is roughly 250 tonnes. It’s able to placing 4,200 kilograms of payload mass right into a LEO, and about 2,900 kilograms right into a SSO.
Falcon 9 v1.2 Block 5 — Galaxy 37
An expected liftoff for 00:15 AM EDT on Aug. 3 (4:15 UTC) could have a SpaceX Falcon 9 delivering the Galaxy 37 satellite, built by Maxar, to a GTO. The mission will launch from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) with the rocket heading due East, later touching down on . The booster supporting this mission is unknown at this point.
Intelsat will operate this communications satellite from GEO on the 127 degrees West slot, providing services in america and North America. Transmitting only in C-band, this spacecraft joins one other six needed to comply with newly imposed US Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) band regulations. One other payload on this satellite, Horizons 4, will operate within the Ku-band.
Puddle was a paid actor ✅
Falcon 9 and the following batch of Starlink satellites ride into the sunset after launching from SLC-40 earlier this evening – glad Sunday!
📺- https://t.co/cXxerFBO0F pic.twitter.com/75Ottk6vhU
— Max Evans (@_mgde_) July 24, 2023
The manufacturer based the Galaxy 37 on the SSL-1300 satellite platform, featuring a pair of solar arrays. These generate a supply of as much as 12 kilowatts of electrical power, with batteries to power the spacecraft through the solar night. Supporting as much as 5,500 kilograms of satellite mass at launch, this bus allows for GEO satellites to slot in four-meter class fairings. Future iterations of this bus are planned, with the expanded 1300 versions seeing as much as a 40% increase in performance.
Notably, Galaxy 37’s ride to space was originally an Ariane 64, which needed change due to FCC-derived deadlines. Having switched launch vehicles, it can now cruise atop SpaceX’s partially reusable, two-stage Falcon 9. Nine Merlin 1D engines power its booster through 845 kilonewtons of thrust each, while a single MVacD generates 942 kilonewtons of force for the second stage.
Propellants, RP-1 and LOX, are stored in tanks inside each stages. The rocket incorporates a liftoff mass of 550 tonnes, standing 70 meters tall, as an entire, with a diameter of three.7 meters. The reusable fairing has a diameter is 5.2 meters, with a length of 13.1 meters. It’s unclear if the fairing is flight proven for this mission.