Watch the Launch

Additional Media

Watch SpaceX launch RADARSAT on a Falcon 9!

LIKE and SUBSCRIBE if you enjoyed this video! The Radarsat Constellation Mission is a follow-on project to RADARSAT-2 currently developed by MDA. The constel...

RADARSAT Constellation

Circle Image

Overview

Destination: Sun-Synchronous Orbit
Mission: Earth Science

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Space Launch Complex 4E Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
B1051 - Landing Zone 4

The Radarsat Constellation Mission is a follow-on project to RADARSAT-2 currently developed by MDA. The constellation will consist of a fleet of three spacecraft, and be both complementary and a follow-on to the upcoming deployment of the RADARSAT-2 mission. The primary purpose of the RCM is to provide C-Band data continuity for RADARSAT-2 users, as well as adding a new series of applications enabled through the constellation approach. The main uses of RCM are expected to be in the areas of: maritime surveillance (ship detection, ice monitoring, and oil spill detection), disaster management, ecosystem monitoring. The primary areas of interest are the landmass of Canada and its surrounding Arctic, Pacific and Atlantic maritime areas. The images and derived information are required to be provided to Canadian government users at frequent area coverage rates. Contrary to the earlier RadarSat missions, the imagery will not be available commercially. The spacecraft Payload will consist of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensor integrated with an Automated Identification System (AIS). The SAR Payload concept is a 2-panel deployable SAR antenna of length approximately 7 meters.

Falcon 9

Family: Falcon
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 Falcon Details
Specifications
  • Minimum Stage
    1
  • Max Stage
    2
  • Length
    70.0 m
  • Diameter
    3.65 m
  • Fairing Diameter
    5.2 m
  • Launch Mass
    549 T
  • Thrust
    7607 kN
Family
  • Name
    Falcon 9
  • Family
    Falcon
  • Variant
    Block 5
  • Alias
  • Full Name
    Falcon 9 Block 5
Payload Capacity
  • Launch Cost
    $52000000
  • Low Earth Orbit
    22800 kg
  • Geostationary Transfer Orbit
    8300 kg
  • Direct Geostationary
  • Sun-Synchronous Capacity

Booster Info


B1051

Status: Expended


Type: Core
Flight Proven: Yes
First Flight: March 2, 2019
Last Flight: November 12, 2022
Flights: 14
Landings Attempted: 13
Landings Successful: 13
Previous B1051 Flights

Landing Information

The Falcon 9 first stage core B1051 will attempt to land at LZ-4.

Result: Successful Return to Launch Site landing at Landing Zone 4.

SpaceX

Circle Image
CEO: Elon Musk Founded: 2002 Successes: 239 Failures: 10 Pending: 111

Agency Type: Commercial

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

NASA Spaceflight

SpaceX Falcon 9 lofts three Canadian radar satellites

Spaceflight Now

Photos: Radarsat satellites encapsulated in Falcon 9 payload fairing

Spaceflight Now

Photos: SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on the pad at Vandenberg

Spaceflight Now

Three Canadian radar surveillance satellites ride SpaceX rocket into orbit

Spaceflight Now

Timeline of the Falcon 9 rocket’s launch of the Radarsat Constellation Mission

Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

Space Launch Complex 4E


Falcon 9
Success
3 days, 9 hours ago
BADR-8
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

Geostationary communications satellite built by Airbus Defense and Space and based on the Eurostar Neo platform for Arabsat.


Soyuz 2.1a/Fregat-M
Success
3 days, 17 hours ago
Kondor-FKA No.1
Cosmodrome Site 1S - Vostochny Cosmodrome, Siberia, Russian Federation

The Kondor-FKA is a small civilian radar Earth observation satellite designed by NPO Mashinostroyeniya as a civilian counterpart to the Kondor-E sate…


Electron
Success
4 days, 10 hours ago
TROPICS-3
Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B - Onenui Station, Mahia Peninsula, New Zealand

Last two operational (TROPICS-06 & TROPICS-07) satellites for NASA's Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a…


SpaceShipTwo
Success
4 days, 21 hours ago
VSS Unity 25
Spaceport America - Air launch to Suborbital flight

Virgin Galactic return to space mission ahead of the first commercial flight.


Nuri
Success
5 days, 4 hours ago
NEXTSat-2 & SNIPE
LC-2 - Naro Space Center, South Korea

Third flight of the KSLV-II "Nuri" launch vehicle, carrying NEXTSat-2 as well as SNIPE A through D.


Soyuz 2.1a
Success
6 days, 1 hour ago
Progress MS-23 (84P)
31/6 - Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan

Progress resupply mission to the International Space Station.


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 1 day ago
Axiom Space Mission 2
Launch Complex 39A - Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA

This is a Crew Dragon flight for a private company Axiom Space. The mission will carry a professionally trained commander alongside three private ast…


Long March 2
Success
1 week, 2 days ago
MUST-1A/B & Luojia-2 01
Launch Area 4 (SLS-2 / 603) - Jiuquan, People's Republic of China

Macau Science Satellite-1 (MUST-1A/B) are 2 magnetosphere research satellites from the Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) aiming to st…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 3 days ago
Iridium-9 & OneWeb 19
Space Launch Complex 4E - Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA

5 spare satellites for the Iridium NEXT constellation and 16 satellites for the OneWeb constellation (15 of current generation and 1 demonstration sa…


Falcon 9
Success
1 week, 4 days ago
Starlink Group 6-3
Space Launch Complex 40 - Cape Canaveral, FL, USA

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