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ESA's Hera mission launch (Official broadcast)

Hera, ESA’s first planetary defence mission, is headed to space. Hera will fly to a unique target among the 1.3 million known asteroids of our Solar System – the first body to have had its orbit shi...

Hera Mission

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SpaceX

SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft. The company was founded in 2002 to revolutionize space technology, with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets.

Hera

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Asteroid
Mission: Robotic Exploration

Asteroid Space Launch Complex 40 Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA Probability: 60%
B1061 - Atlantic Ocean

Hera is a space mission in development at the European Space Agency in its Space Safety program. Its primary objective is to study the Didymos binary asteroid system that was impacted by DART and contribute to validation of the kinetic impact method to deviate a near-Earth asteroid in a colliding trajectory with Earth. It will measure the size and the morphology of the crater created by and momentum transferred by an artificial projectile impacting an asteroid, which will allow measuring the efficiency of the deflection produced by the impact. It will also analyze the expanding debris cloud caused by the impact.

Telemetry

Launch trajectory and telemetry simulations provided by Flight Club - a rocket launch simulator and orbital trajectory visualiser for all things space!

Updates

Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 7, 2024, 4:18 p.m.

Hera signal acquired and all systems nominal.


Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 7, 2024, 4:08 p.m.

Spacecraft separation.


Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 7, 2024, 2:52 p.m.

Liftoff.


Cosmic_Penguin • Oct. 7, 2024, 2:19 p.m.

Updated launch weather, 60% GO.


LL2 • Oct. 7, 2024, 2:11 p.m.

Official Webcast by European Space Agency, ESA has started


Falcon 9

Family:
Configuration: Block 5

Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit. The Block 5 variant is the fifth major interval aimed at improving upon the ability for rapid reusability.

See Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    1
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    70.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    549.0 T
  • Thrust
    7607.0 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon 9
  • Family
  • Variant
    Block 5
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Falcon 9 Block 5
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $52000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    22800.0 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    8300.0 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


B1061

Status: Expended


Type: Core
Flight Proven: Yes
First Flight: November 16, 2020
Last Flight: October 7, 2024
Flights: 23
Landings Attempted: 22
Landings Successful: 22
Previous B1061 Flights

Landing Information

The Falcon 9 booster B1061 is expended during this mission.

Core will be expended.

SpaceX

SpaceX

(SpX)

CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 456 Failures: 13 Pending: 110

Agency Type:

Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX, is an American aerospace manufacturer and space transport services company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. It was founded in 2002 by entrepreneur Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonization of Mars. SpaceX operates from many pads, on the East Coast of the US they operate from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and historic LC-39A at Kennedy Space Center. They also operate from SLC-4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, usually for polar launches. Another launch site is being developed at Boca Chica, Texas.

INFO WIKI

Related News

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Happy holidays from Hera!

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Hera asteroid mission in your house

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Hera burns towards Mars

ESA’s Hera mission has completed the first critical manoeuvre on its journey to the Didymos binary asteroid system since launch on 7 October.

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Moon waves goodbye to Hera

Moon waves goodbye to Hera

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Spooky Earths seen by Hera’s HyperScout

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Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 40


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 2 hours ago
Starlink Group 12-18
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Long March 8A
Success
3 days, 11 hours ago
SatNet LEO Group 02 (Demo Flight)
201 - Wenchang Space Launch Site, People's Republic of China

Demonstration flight of the Long March 8A rocket with upgraded first stage and boosters engines, and a new larger liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen secon…


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 18 hours ago
Starlink Group 11-10
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

A batch of 23 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
Success
6 days ago
IoT 4 You and Me (Kinéis 16-20)
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1A - Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Fourth batch of five satellites for the French Kinéis IoT constellation designed to operate with 25 nanosatellites of 30 kg each.


Falcon 9
Success
6 days, 1 hour ago
Starlink Group 12-9
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Soyuz 2.1v
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
Kosmos 2581/2582/2583
43/4 (43R) - Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation

Unidentified classified satellites for the Russian military.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
WorldView Legion 5 & 6
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

WorldView Legion is a constellation of Earth observation satellites built and operated by Maxar. Constellation is planned to consist of 6 satellites …


New Shepard
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
NS-29
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-29 will simulate the Moon’s gravity and fly 30 payloads, all but one of which is focused on testing lunar-related technologies. The payloads wi…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Starlink Group 12-3
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 21 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


H3-22
Success
1 week, 5 days ago
Michibiki 6 (QZS-6)
Yoshinobu Launch Complex LP-2 - Tanegashima Space Center, Japan

QZSS (Quasi Zenith Satellite System) is a Japanese satellite navigation system operating from inclined, elliptical geosynchronous orbits to achieve o…