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Additional Media

Launch of Mission to Study Earth's Atmosphere and Oceans (Official NASA Broadcast)

Our Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud ocean Ecosystem (PACE) mission will study what makes Earth so different from every other planet we study: life itself. Three-qua...

SpaceX Falcon 9 Launches NASA's PACE-Payload

Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) is a NASA Earth-observing satellite mission that will continue and advance observations of global ocean colo...

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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.

PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem)

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Space Launch Complex 40 Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA Probability: 95%
B1081 - Landing Zone 1

PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) is a NASA Earth observation satellite mission. It will make global ocean color measurements to provide extended data records on ocean ecology and global biogeochemistry (e.g., carbon cycle) along with polarimetry measurements to provide extended data records on clouds and aerosols.

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 • Feb. 8, 2024, 6:53 a.m.

Launch success, spacecraft power positive.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 8, 2024, 6:33 a.m.

Liftoff.


LL2 • Feb. 8, 2024, 5:54 a.m.

Livestream has started


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 8, 2024, 5:53 a.m.

Tweaked T-0.


Cosmic_Penguin • Feb. 6, 2024, 11:43 p.m.

Scrubbed for the day due to high winds.


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


B1081

Status: Active


Type: Core
Flight Proven: Yes
First Flight: August 26, 2023
Last Flight: June 13, 2025
Flights: 15
Landings Attempted: 15
Landings Successful: 15
Previous B1081 Flights

Landing Information

The Falcon 9 first stage B1081 has landed back at the launch site after its 4th flight.

Result: Successful Return to Launch Site landing at Landing Zone 1.

SpaceX

SpaceX

(SpX)

CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 518 Failures: 15 Pending: 117

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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By Air and by Sea: Validating NASA’s PACE Ocean Color Instrument

In autumn 2024, California’s Monterey Bay experienced an outsized phytoplankton bloom that attracted fish, dolphins, whales, seabirds, and – for a few weeks in October – scientists. A team from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley…

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NASA’s PACE Mission Reveals a Year of Terrestrial Data on Plant Health

A lot can change in a year for Earth’s forests and vegetation, as springtime and rainy seasons can bring new growth, while cooling temperatures and dry weather can bring a dieback of those green colors. And now, a novel type of NASA visual…

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Carissa Arillo: Testing Spacecraft, Penning the Owner’s Manuals

Flight operations engineer Carissa Arillo helped ensure one of the instruments on NASA’s PACE mission made it successfully through its prelaunch testing. She and her group also documented the work rigorously, to ensure the flight team had …

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Systems Engineer Noosha Haghani Prepped PACE for Space

Throughout the life cycles of missions, Goddard engineer Noosha Haghani has championed problem-solving and decision-making to get to flight-ready projects. Name: Noosha HaghaniTitle: Plankton Aerosol Clouds and Ecosystem (PACE) Deputy Miss…

SpaceNews

Falcon 9 launches PACE Earth science mission

A SpaceX Falcon 9 placed a NASA Earth science satellite into orbit Feb. 8 on a launch that was the first of its kind for the U.S. government in more than 60 years.

Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Space Launch Complex 40


New Shepard
Success
13 hours, 57 minutes ago
NS-33
West Texas Suborbital Launch Site/ Corn Ranch - Corn Ranch, Van Horn, TX, USA

NS-33 is the 13th crewed flight for the New Shepard program and the 33rd in its history.


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Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

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H-IIA
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GOSAT-GW (Ibuki GW)
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2 days ago
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Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Electron
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3 days, 11 hours ago
Get The Hawk Outta Here (4x HawkEye 360)
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Falcon 9
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A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation - SpaceX's project for space-based Internet communication system.


Falcon 9
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Axiom Space Mission 4
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

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Falcon 9
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6 days, 7 hours ago
Transporter 14 (Dedicated SSO Rideshare)
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Dedicated rideshare flight to a sun-synchronous orbit with dozens of small microsatellites and nanosatellites for commercial and government customers.


Atlas V 551
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6 days, 17 hours ago
Project Kuiper (KA-02)
Space Launch Complex 41 - Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA

Project Kuiper is a mega constellation of satellites in Low Earth Orbit that will offer broadband internet access, this constellation will be managed…