Hera mission headed to asteroid as part of planetary defense test to launch Monday
- by Florida Today
- Oct 06, 2024
- 0 Comments
- 0 Likes Flag 0 Of 5
When is the next Florida rocket launch?Is there a launch today? Upcoming SpaceX, NASA, ULA rocket launch schedule from Florida
It's important to note: there is currently no threat to Earth, and these tests are purely planetary defense experiments.
What is the Hera spacecraft?
ESA and NASA describe the Hera spacecraft as "box-shaped base on a central tube and adapter cone." The spacecraft has two solar panel wings to assist with power, which measure around 13 square meters when deployed. It will navigate to its destination with assistance of NavCams alongside a star- and sun-tracker.
Hera weighs a whopping 2,676 pounds when fully fueled before launch.
According to NASA, Hera is brining along two Asteroid Framing Cameras (AFCs), the Hyperscout-H spectral imager, a Thermal InfraRed Imager (TIRI), and the two CubeSats (known as Juvenitas and Milani).
When will Hera arrive at Didymos/Dimorphos?
Hera will arrive at Didymos and Dimorphos in late 2026. Once arriving, it will make observations that can't be made from Earth − including measuring the mass of both bodies and any changes DART's impact may have caused. This includes close flybys, observations of the DART impact site, and finally landing on the surface of Didymos.
The observations from Hera could reveal if the kinetic impact method is a valid method for planetary defense.
SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage issue
After launching NASA Crew-9 to the International Space Station last week, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket's upper stage experienced an abnormal deorbit burn. While no harm was done to the trajectory of the Dragon spacecraft and the crew safely reached the station, this caused the upper stage to land outside of the intended area.
Sunday morning, the FAA issued the following statement:
"The SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle is authorized to return to flight only for the planned Hera mission scheduled to launch on Oct. 7 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The FAA has determined that the absence of a second stage reentry for this mission adequately mitigates the primary risk to the public in the event of a reoccurrence of the mishap experienced with the Crew-9 mission.
Safety will drive the timeline for the FAA to complete its review of SpaceX’s Crew-9 mishap investigation report and when the agency will authorize Falcon 9 to return to regular operations."
While the FAA continues the investigation, NASA claims it has no impact to their upcoming missions, including Europa Clipper, which is set to launch no earlier than October 10.
"NASA is fully engaged with SpaceX’s investigation as NASA prepares for its upcoming missions," wrote KSC Public Affairs Officer, Leejay Lockhart, in an email to FLORIDA TODAY.
Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at bedwards@floridatoday.com or on X: @brookeofstars.
Please first to comment
Related Post
Stay Connected
Tweets by elonmuskTo get the latest tweets please make sure you are logged in on X on this browser.
Sponsored
Popular Post
Tesla: Buy This Dip, Energy Growth And Margin Recovery Are Vastly Underappreciated
28 ViewsJul 29 ,2024