For the second time, SpaceX will try to launch a satellite aboard its Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The launch is scheduled for 05:10 p.m. CST on Sunday. SpaceX’s launch and land it back platform is being tested to dramatically reduce launch costs by reusing rockets.
The Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, is a space weather satellite which will orbit between the sun and Earth. The spacecraft will observe and measure the flow of the solar wind toward our planet. The solar storms could severely impact power grids, communication infrastructure and other communication satellites in orbit. Scientists estimate that even a 15-minute warning signal could help power companies take necessary actions to limit damage.
DSCOVR is a partnership between the U.S. Air Force, NOAA and NASA. The idea of spacecraft emerged during a late-night brainstorm back in 1998, and former Vice President Al Gore said in a recent interview that it has been a long wait. However, the mission was postponed amid the political backfires. Congressional Republicans counted the idea as “self-aggrandizing” waste of money and dubbed the mission as “GoreSat.”
DSCOVR will be placed on Lagrangian Point 1, about a million miles away between the Earth and sun. The gravitational pull of the two cancel out at L1 would allow the spacecraft to easily maintain its position. NASA has already placed several of its sun-watching craft there.
As far the Falcon 9 is concerned, it did not succeed in its first attempt and also caused a minor damage to the platform due to explosion. Elon Musk, SpaceX Chief Executive, said that the spaceship ran out of hydraulic fluid and the agency would load more of that this time.
However, another SpaceX engineer Hans Koenigsmann told that the extra fuel will be required for the primary mission as well given the distance of the station.