After a week of weather-related scrubs, we have another launch from the Cape!
| Scheduled for (UTC) | 2024-02-08, 06:33 | |
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| | Scheduled for (local) | 2024-01-30, 01:33 (EST) | | Mission | PACE | Launch site | SLC-40, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, USA. | | Booster | B1081-4 | | Landing | LZ-1 | | Payload | PACE | | Customer | NASA | | Mission success criteria | Successful launch and delivery to SSO |
Webcasts
| Stream | Link | |
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| | Space Affairs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdU0mwFfKcs | NASA | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtP0upSa_pU | NASA | https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ng5CSXzi_J0 | NASASpaceflight | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiNl4D8ljWE | Spaceflight Now | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEgQlSOD0oM | The Launch Pad | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zwT0EfhKvU | SpaceX | None? | The Space Devs | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guKQKxA0Z1o
Stats
Sourced from NextSpaceflight and r/SpaceX:
☑️ 5th launch from SLC-40 this year
☑️ 8 days, 13:26:11 turnaround for this pad
☑️ 36th landing on LZ-1
☑️ 11th Falcon 9 launch this year, 297th Falcon 9 launch overall
☑️ 224th consecutive successful Falcon 9 launch (excluding Amos-6) (if successful)
☑️ 271st Falcon booster landing, 281st Falcon recovery attempt
☑️ 11th SpaceX launch this year
☑️ 311th SpaceX mission overall (excluding Starship hops)
☑️ 323rd SpaceX launch overall (including Starship hops)
Mission info
- NextSpaceflight mission page
- SpaceX mission website
- Spaceflight Now article
- SpaceNews article
- NASASpaceFlight article
The PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) spacecraft is the next payload to launch into orbit that will build upon more than 20 years of direct Earth observation. Dr. Nicola Fox, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, described the spacecraft as a “jewel” among the Earth-observing fleet.
PACE carries three instruments designed to study the ocean as well as clouds and aerosols in the atmosphere. Ocean Color Instrument (OCI), the primary instrument, will provide information on ocean color from ultraviolet to infrared wavelengths. It is accompanied by the Hyper Angular Research Polarimeter (HARP2) and Spectro-polarimeter for Planetary Exploration (SPEXone), which will provide data on atmospheric clouds and aerosols as well as support atmospheric correction of OCI data.
