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SpaceXFalcon 9 Block 4Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO
Launched
May 22, 2018
Summary
Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 4 from Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA on May 22, 2018. It was SpaceX's 62nd launch, 10th this year and humanity's 5,753rd orbital launch attempt. It was the 10th Falcon 9 Block 4 flight and the 6th this year. Booster B1043 flew for the 2nd time and was expended. The payload was bound for low Earth orbit (LEO). GRACE-FO 1, one of 8 catalogued objects, reached a 491 × 512 km orbit inclined 89.0°. 8 objects from this launch are catalogued, 7 of them payloads.
- Watch
- GRACE-FO Launches Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9NASA's Kennedy Space Center
- U.S./German GRACE-FO Launches Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Launching U.S./German GRACE-FO (live broadcast)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Mission
- Communications · Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
- Milestone
- 10th Falcon 9 Block 4 flight · 6th this yearSpaceX's 62nd launch10th this yearhumanity's 5,753rd orbital launch attempt47th orbital launch attempt this year
Webcast
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
GRACE-FO 1 · NORAD 43476 · 2018-047 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 8 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TBA - TO BE ASSIGNED
- Object ID
- 2018-047A
- Epoch
- 2018-05-22 21:20:29 UTC
- Mean motion
- 15.2385857 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.0015589
- Inclination
- 88.9948°
- Ascending node
- 239.1029°
- Arg. of perigee
- 273.5129°
- Mean anomaly
- 201.0099°
- Element set
- 999
- Rev at epoch
- 0
- B*
- 0
Perigee, apogee and period are Kepler figures from the catalogued mean elements, not a propagated state. Published orbit: LEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile.
Catalogued objects
8 catalogued: 7 payloads, 1 component; 7 still in orbit
- GRACE-FO 1 · NORAD 43476 · in orbit
- GRACE-FO 2 · NORAD 43477 · in orbit
- Iridium Next SV161 · NORAD 43478 · in orbit
- Iridium Next SV152 · NORAD 43479 · in orbit
- Iridium Next SV147 · NORAD 43480 · in orbit
- Iridium Next SV110 · NORAD 43481 · in orbit
- Iridium Next SV162 · NORAD 43482 · in orbit
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will deliver 10 satellites to low Earth orbit for Iridium, a global leader in mobile voice and data satellite communications. This is the sixth set of 10 satellites in a series of 75 total satellites that SpaceX will launch for Iridium’s next generation global satellite constellation, Iridium® NEXT. Sharing this launch is the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on mission, which is a joint project of NASA and the German Research Centre for Geosciences. It's goal is to track Earth's water movement to monitor changes in underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, soil moisture, ice sheets and glaciers, and sea level caused by the addition of water to the ocean.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
78th launch from Space Launch Complex 4E, 3rd this year · 679th from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
303 launches from this pad · 919 from Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA
53 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO launch?
Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO launched on May 22, 2018. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO?
Coverage: GRACE-FO Launches Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9; U.S./German GRACE-FO Launches Aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9; Launching U.S./German GRACE-FO (live broadcast). Watch the replay
What rocket launched Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO?
Falcon 9 Block 4, flown by SpaceX. Falcon 9 Block 4 spec sheet
Where did Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO launch from?
Space Launch Complex 4E, Vandenberg SFB, CA, USA.
Did the booster land?
Booster B1043 flew for the 2nd time and was expended.
What orbit did Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO reach?
GRACE-FO 1, one of 8 catalogued objects, reached a 491 × 512 km orbit inclined 89.0°.
How many satellites did Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO launch?
7 payloads from this launch are catalogued, 7 of them still in orbit (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).
Which program is Iridium-6 & GRACE-FO part of?
Iridium Constellation. About Iridium Constellation