SpaceX targets Tuesday launch of Bandwagon-5 with Starfall capsule
SpaceX is aiming to launch its Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission from Cape Canaveral early Tuesday after bad weather called off a Monday try, Spaceflight Now and NASASpaceFlight reported. The Falcon 9 carries 32 payloads. One is SpaceX's second Starfall capsule, built to bring cargo back from space.
SpaceX is targeting Tuesday morning for the launch of its Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, after poor weather in the booster recovery zone forced it to scrub a Monday attempt, Spaceflight Now and NASASpaceFlight reported.
The Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 during an hour-long window that opens at 6:30 AM EDT, Spaceflight Now and NASASpaceFlight reported. It is carrying 32 payloads, Spaceflight Now and NASASpaceFlight reported.
The 45th Weather Squadron forecast a 90% chance of acceptable weather during the window, Spaceflight Now reported. A cold front in southern Florida drifting farther south should ease the high winds seen Monday, though there is still a moderate risk of poor weather at the booster recovery site, Spaceflight Now reported.
Among the payloads is SpaceX's second Starfall capsule, mounted atop the satellite stack, NASASpaceFlight reported. Starfall is a disk-shaped reentry vehicle that can stay in space indefinitely and be brought back and recovered at any time, NASASpaceFlight reported. It measures 3.1 meters across, has a mass of 2,100 kilograms and can carry up to 1,000 kilograms of cargo, NASASpaceFlight reported. SpaceX plans to use it for point-to-point cargo delivery and to bring back goods made in microgravity, NASASpaceFlight reported. The first Starfall demonstration launched on June 23, NASASpaceFlight reported.
The capsule uses small nitrogen thrusters to orient itself, a heat shield it can drop, and a parachute-assisted splashdown, NASASpaceFlight reported. These first tests are planned to land in the Pacific Ocean about 1,300 kilometers off the coast of the United States or Mexico, NASASpaceFlight reported.
The first-stage booster, B1085, will fly for the 19th time and is set to land on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas about nine minutes after liftoff, Spaceflight Now reported. Rideshare missions let small satellite companies and schools launch payloads of up to 50 kilograms for $350,000, NASASpaceFlight reported.
What we know: SpaceX plans to launch Bandwagon-5 with 32 payloads, including a Starfall capsule, early Tuesday.
What we don't: Whether the launch goes ahead in Tuesday's window and when the Starfall capsule will return to Earth.
Where outlets agree Spaceflight Now and NASASpaceFlight report that SpaceX is targeting a 6:30 AM EDT window on Tuesday for Bandwagon-5 after a weather scrub on Monday.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.