E-Paper
SpaceX rocket launches today: 3 missions, astronaut crew and 130 satellites on October 1
SpaceX plans three rocket launches on October 1, including a NASA astronaut mission, 130 payloads for customers and a secret national security mission.
Prefer HTon Google
SpaceX has three rocket launches planned for October 1. Elon Musk's SpaceX has a busy day, with three rocket launches planned across the US. Two launches will take place in Florida and one in California. The missions will send astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), carry 130 payloads into space and launch a secret national security payload.
The three launches will take place at different locations. The first rocket will launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The second will take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California. The third launch is planned at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, according to USA Today.
SpaceX rocket launches today: Crew-13 astronaut mission
The first mission, Crew-13, will carry four astronauts to the ISS. The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, under which the US space agency works with private companies such as SpaceX to transport astronauts to space. The four crew members will travel aboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket.
The Crew-13 launch is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The astronauts are expected to reach the International Space Station by 7 pm ET, according to USA Today.
Four astronauts are part of the Crew-13 mission. They are NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. They will travel to the ISS aboard the Dragon spacecraft.
Falcon 9 rocket to carry 130 payloads
A Falcon 9 rocket will carry the astronauts into space. The two-stage rocket is around 230 feet tall and provides the thrust needed to send the Dragon capsule into orbit. Falcon 9 is also described as the world's most active rocket.
SpaceX's second launch will carry 130 payloads into orbit. The Transporter-18 rideshare mission is scheduled to take off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California. Its launch window is set to open at 2:18 p.m. ET and will remain open for 58 minutes, according to a launch alert cited by USA Today.
Transporter-18 will carry payloads for commercial and civil customers. SpaceX runs rideshare missions to help customers send smaller spacecraft and satellites into orbit by sharing space aboard a single rocket. This allows multiple customers to use the same launch rather than arrange separate rocket launches, according to the company's mission information.
The 130 payloads include several types of spacecraft and equipment. SpaceX said the cargo includes CubeSats, microsatellites and hosted payloads. These are small satellites or other equipment designed to perform different tasks in space.
Also read: SpaceX stock: Could a market crash create a buying opportunity for investors?
Some of the Transporter-18 payloads will be deployed at a later time. SpaceX said the rocket will also carry two spacecraft with reentry vehicles and four orbital transfer vehicles. Those four transfer vehicles will carry 41 payloads that will be released into orbit later, according to the company's mission details.
Transporter-18 mission: What will the rocket carry?
The third launch will use SpaceX's more powerful Falcon Heavy rocket. It will take off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Unlike the first two missions, this launch will carry a secret payload linked to US national security, USA Today reported.
SpaceX says Falcon Heavy can carry very heavy loads into space. It can lift a weight similar to a Boeing 737 passenger plane carrying people, luggage and fuel. The rocket has three reusable Falcon 9 boosters. Each booster has nine Merlin engines, according to SpaceX's website.
The Falcon Heavy launch is scheduled for 11:53 pm ET on October 1. It will take place late at night from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This would make it the third planned SpaceX launch of the day, following the astronaut mission and the Transporter-18 rideshare launch, according to USA Today.
Falcon Heavy launch time and location
The final mission is known as NROL-97, and its payload is classified. SpaceX has been contracted to launch a national-security payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). The agency designed, built and operates the payload, but its exact purpose and details have not been publicly disclosed in the report.
The three missions highlight SpaceX's different roles in spaceflight. Crew-13 will transport astronauts to the ISS, Transporter-18 will deploy payloads for multiple paying customers, and NROL-97 will carry a classified national-security payload. Together, the missions show how SpaceX's rockets support human spaceflight, commercial satellite deployment and government space operations.
