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SpaceXFalcon 9 Block 4Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)
Launched
April 18, 2018
Summary
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 4 from Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA on April 18, 2018. It was SpaceX's 60th launch, 8th this year and humanity's 5,744th orbital launch attempt. It was the 9th Falcon 9 Block 4 flight and the 5th this year. Booster B1045 flew for the 1st time and landed at Of Course I Still Love You. The payload was bound for High Earth Orbit (HEO). The tracked orbit of TESS, one of 2 catalogued objects, from April 25, 2018, was 2,241 × 272,687 km inclined 28.3°. 2 objects from this launch are catalogued, one of them a payload.
- Watch
- Liftoff of TESSNASA's Kennedy Space Center
- TESS MissionSpaceX
- Vehicle
- Falcon 9 Block 4 · SpaceX
- Booster
- B1045 · flight 1 · Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship at Of Course I Still Love You · landed209/217 landed here · 302 km downrange
- Mission
- Astrophysics · High Earth Orbit (HEO)
- Milestone
- 9th Falcon 9 Block 4 flight · 5th this yearSpaceX's 60th launch8th this yearhumanity's 5,744th orbital launch attempt38th orbital launch attempt this year
Webcast
Flight preview
Orbit: as tracked
TESS · NORAD 43435 · 2018-038 · Space-Track · tracking 1 of 2 objects
Show the numbers for orbit elements
- Object
- TESS
- Object ID
- 2018-038A
- Epoch
- 2018-04-25 04:30:50 UTC
- Mean motion
- 0.15915049 rev/day
- Eccentricity
- 0.9401287
- Inclination
- 28.32°
- Ascending node
- 35.424°
- Arg. of perigee
- 231.24°
- Mean anomaly
- 357.247°
- 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: HEO. Ascent drawn from padside's representative profile. Booster return drawn from padside's representative arc.
Catalogued objects
2 catalogued: 1 payload, 1 rocket stage
- TESS · NORAD 43435 · left Earth orbit April 19, 2018
Falcon 9-052 Stage 2 · left Earth orbit April 19, 2018
Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org
About this launch
The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a NASA space telescope, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method. TESS will identify planets ranging from Earth-sized to gas giants, orbiting a wide range of stellar types and orbital distances. The principal goal of the TESS mission is to detect small planets with bright host stars in the solar neighborhood, so that detailed characterizations of the planets and their atmospheres can be performed.
News
NASA’s TESS Mission Finds Planetary System in New WayFor the first time, NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) mission has identified a planet orbiting a distant star thanks to ripples in space-time. Unlike the star-hugging transiting planets TESS regularly reveals, the newfound world is a super-Jupiter orbiting far from its host star. “When TESS launched, no one expected it to ever be capable […]
NASA’s TESS Mission Reveals the “Puffiest” Planets Ever FoundNASA has revealed two new “super-puff” planets, giant worlds so light that their density is comparable to cotton candy. Scientists calculate that these Jupiter-sized planets are the “puffiest” worlds ever found.
Pad
Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
88th launch from Space Launch Complex 40, 5th this year · 769th from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
403 launches from this pad · 1,131 from Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
16 days after the previous launch from this pad
Questions
When did TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) launch?
TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) launched on April 18, 2018. The time is known to the hour, not the minute.
Where can I watch TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)?
Coverage: Liftoff of TESS; TESS Mission. Watch the replay
What rocket launched TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite)?
Falcon 9 Block 4, flown by SpaceX. Falcon 9 Block 4 spec sheet
Where did TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) launch from?
Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA.
Did the booster land?
Booster B1045 flew for the 1st time and landed at Of Course I Still Love You.
What orbit did TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) reach?
The tracked orbit of TESS, one of 2 catalogued objects, from April 25, 2018, was 2,241 × 272,687 km inclined 28.3°.
How many satellites did TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) launch?
1 payload from this launch is catalogued (Data from J. McDowell, planet4589.org).