SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to launch two German military radar reconnaissance satellites early Saturday morning (December 23).
A Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off the SARAh-2 mission to low Earth orbit (LEO) from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, on Saturday at 8:11 a.m. ET (13:11 GMT, 5:11 p.m.) The competition will be held within an 83-minute window, starting in 1:00. (California local time).
You can watch live via the SpaceX account on X (formerly Twitter). Coverage will begin approximately 15 minutes before the launch slot opens.
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The SARAh-2 mission will launch two Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) reconnaissance satellites for the German military.
“The satellite continues the process of replacing the aging SAR-Lupe satellite constellation,” EverydayAstronaut.com writes. Mission description.
“SARAh 2 and SARAh 3 are two ‘reflector antenna’ satellites that will consequently fly in formation with SARAh 1, increasing the resolution of the constellations,” it added.
According to SpaceX, SARAh-2 will be the eighth Falcon 9 first stage launch. The booster will descend again on its eighth landing, and if all goes according to plan, it will touch down at Vandenberg about eight minutes after liftoff.
Meanwhile, SARAh 2 and SARAh 3 will deploy from Falcon 9’s upper stage to LEO approximately 20 and 25 minutes after liftoff, respectively.
Saturday’s launch continues a very busy 2023 for SpaceX. The company has launched more than 90 orbital missions so far this year, and two test flights of its massive Starship rocket also failed to reach orbit.
And there will be more SpaceX activity before the calendar changes. For example, the company’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket is scheduled to launch the U.S. Space Force’s X-37B spaceplane into orbit on Dec. 28.