SpaceX F9 : Hera (asteroid mission) : CCSFS SLC-40 : 7 October 2024 (14:52 UTC)

[Chinakpradhan]

Discussion thread for launch of Hera.

Threads for Hera mission: ESA Hera Updates / Launch Thread

Launch NET 7 October 2024, at 14:52:11 UTC (10:52 am EDT), from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station SLC-40, on expendable Falcon 9 first stage 1061-23.

Hera wet mass 1082kg.

Carries:
Milani (6U, Tyvak/ESA)


Hera is a planetary defence mission under development at the European Space Agency (ESA) - launching in October 2024.
Its objectives are to investigate the Didymos binary asteroid, including the very first assessment of its internal properties, and to measure in great detail the outcome of NASA's DART mission kinetic impactor test. Hera will provide extremely valuable information for future asteroid deflection missions and science; increasing our understanding of asteroid geophysics as well as solar system formation and evolutionary processes.

Hera is a planetary defense mission under development in the Space Safety and Security Program of the European Space Agency for launch in 2024 October. It will rendezvous in late 2026 December with the binary asteroid (65803) Didymos and in particular its moon, Dimorphos, which will be impacted by NASA's DART spacecraft on 2022 September 26 as the first asteroid deflection test. The main goals of Hera are the detailed characterization of the physical properties of Didymos and Dimorphos and of the crater made by the DART mission, as well as measurement of the momentum transfer efficiency resulting from DART's impact. The data from the Hera spacecraft and its two CubeSats will also provide significant insights into asteroid science and the evolutionary history of our solar system. Hera will perform the first rendezvous with a binary asteroid and provide new measurements, such as radar sounding of an asteroid interior, which will allow models in planetary science to be tested. Hera will thus provide a crucial element in the global effort to avert future asteroid impacts at the same time as providing world-leading science.
https://www.heramission.space/
Was originally scheduled to fly on Ariane 6, F9 has been selected as a replacement:

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1583048671733878784

ESA director general Josef Aschbacher confirmed at a briefing that the agency has selected Falcon 9 to launch the Euclid mission next year. Another Falcon 9 will launch the Hera asteroid mission in 2024. Vega C will launch EarthCARE in 2024.

[starbase]

Target launch date for Hera is Oct. 8 2024

[AndrewM]

Still on track for October 2024 as of December 2023 when the solar panels were cleared for flight.

Hera is due for launch in October 2024.

The solar wings that will power ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence as it ventures out to meet the Dimorphos asteroid have been cleared for flight. As part of its current test campaign at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands, the spacecraft commanded the deployment of the wings one at a time, as it will do in space directly after launch – known as a ‘hot deployment’.

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2023/12/Hera_s_wings_of_power

[bolun]

Thread of Hera asteroid mission:

ESA - Hera updates

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47135.0

[bolun]

https://esamultimedia.esa.int/docs/spacesafety/MediaKit_Hera.pdf

Hera media kit

[StraumliBlight]

https://twitter.com/deepbluedot/status/1786672493572301083

While going through QAR, we move #HeraMission to a very special place to run our last tests. Electromagnetic compatibility. Hera’s asteroid deck is 🤩

[Josh_from_Canada]

I don't think this has been mentioned but this mission is being launched from Florida with the launch window going from October 7th to October 27th.

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_Frequently_Asked_Questions

14. How is Hera being launched?

Hera will be launched in October 2024 by SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, with a launch window opening on 7 October and closing on 27 October.

[zubenelgenubi]

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_Frequently_Asked_Questions

14. How is Hera being launched?

Hera will be launched in October 2024 by SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, with a launch window opening on 7 October and closing on 27 October.

I suspect that "Kennedy Space Center" is being used as an inaccurate synonym for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The Hera window overlaps that of Europa Clipper, which must launch from LC-39A.

[gongora]

https://www.heramission.space/hera-mission-milani-cubesat
https://tyvak.eu/missions/milani/

[StraumliBlight]

Countdown to Hera: launch campaign begins at ESOC

The spacecraft is currently undergoing its final system tests in the Netherlands in preparation for transport to its launch site in the USA. Meanwhile, in Germany, Hera’s Mission Control Team recently began launch preparations of their own.

Hera spacecraft with solar wing deployed

One of these 5-m-long wings was added for Hera’s ‘cold deployment check’ – a manual unfolding process to confirm that the wing fits correctly. Because the solar wings have been designed to operate in weightlessness they were supported by a frame during this test deployment.

[bolun]

NASA selects US scientists to join ESA’s Hera mission

The science team behind ESA’s Hera asteroid mission is getting bigger. NASA has selected 12 participating scientists to join Europe’s first planetary defence mission, scheduled to launch this October.

The goal of NASA’s Hera Participating Scientist Program is to support scientists at US institutions to participate in the Hera mission and address outstanding questions in planetary defence and near-Earth asteroid science. The participating scientist will become Hera science team members during their five-year tenure with the mission.

[AndrewM]

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/07/Hera_in_the_doghouse

Like a pet being put in its kennel, ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence was placed back in its transport container for the latest phase in its test campaign.

The spacecraft is not due to leave the ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands until the end of August. Instead its container became the venue for Hera’s global leak test, confirming the continued integrity of the spacecraft’s propulsion system following its 10-month long environmental test campaign.

The principle is simple, explains Hera mission manager Ian Carnelli: “Hera’s propulsion tanks are loaded up with gaseous helium at 300 bar, or standard atmospheres. Next place the spacecraft inside its container, adding sensors to check if the interior pressure remains the same over the course of the day-long test.

“Hera’s propulsion system has already undergone one leak test at the premises of Avio in Italy, back before the Propulsion Module was integrated with its Core Module. But since then Hera has undergone testing to replicate the stresses of launch and also operations in the vacuum of space, so we need to check no harm was done in the process.”

For safety reasons the leak test took place inside the Test Centre, Large European Acoustic Facility, LEAF, which has already been the venue for the mission’s acoustic testing, reproducing the violent noise of take-off.

Having passed this latest test, Hera and its accompanying CubeSats continue their functional testing, with launch due in early October.

[StraumliBlight]

Tyvak International's Milani Satellite Passes Qualification and Acceptance Review For Hera Mission [July 11]

Milani, a satellite developed by Tyvak International, is dedicated to the visual inspection and dust detection of the Didymos asteroid following the DART impact. It will be launched aboard the ESA’s Hera mothercraft in late 2024. A critical component of the Hera planetary defense mission, Milani will be one of the ESA’s first deep-space nanosatellites, along with being one of the first nanosatellites ever to orbit an asteroid. Tyvak International is fully responsible for Milani’s design, build, and mission operations.

“Just few months ago we delivered Milani to the ESA and now it has completed the intense campaign of system level testing with Hera, along with the ground segment, and ensured the validation of all the interfaces and the end-to-end communication prior to the launch. We are very proud of the work done so far and the successful completion of the Qualification and Acceptance Review,” Margherita Cardi said.

“Today we formally declared Milani qualified for flight. This is the result of extremely skilled professionals who invested extensive engineering, design, manufacturing, and testing hours. The ESA is grateful to every single member of the Tyvak International team for leading a complex European consortium in record time for this historical mission. I can’t wait to see the scientific wonders delivered by this technological marvel. With exploring a new world traveling over 400 million kilometers from our planet, sci-fi is becoming reality,” stated ESA’s Hera Project Manager Ian Carnelli.

The Tyvak International team is currently preparing for the launch campaign activities scheduled for September 2024, in anticipation of the launch in October 2024.

[AndrewM]

Shipping to the Cape in September.

Hera is currently completing its test campaign at ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre in the Netherlands, in preparation for transport to Cape Canaveral at the beginning of September for launch by SpaceX Falcon 9 the following month.

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Glimpses_of_Hera_s_target_asteroids_inspire_new_science

[Galactic Penguin SST]

From Ben Cooper:

A Falcon 9 will launch the Hera asteroid rendezvous mission for the European Space Agency from pad 40 on October 7 at 10:52 a.m. EDT.

[GewoonLukas_]

Currently in the process of being shipped:

The day has arrived for @ESA_Hera to leave #ESTEC for good. We  worked tirelessly for you, we cried, we laughed, we argued and we cheered. We will miss you ❤️

Cargo made it safely to airport ✈️

https://twitter.com/deepbluedot/status/1830456413165896001

[jacqmans]

Goodbye Hera: asteroid mission departs ESA test centre
02/09/2024

After a year of testing, ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence is about to depart Europe and head towards its launch site in the USA. The Hera team looked on as the crated spacecraft – along with its twin miniature CubeSats and additional equipment – was driven away from ESA’s ESTEC Test Centre in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Following its lift-off this October, after a two-year cruise through space, Hera will rendezvous with the Didymos binary asteroid system: the Dimorphos moonlet, about the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza, is in orbit about 1.2 km away from the mountain-sized Didymos main body.

Hera will investigate the altered nature of Dimorphos due to NASA’s DART spacecraft impacting it and shifting its orbit in September 2022. The data returned by Hera will turn this ‘kinetic impact’ method into a well-understood and potentially repeatable planetary defence method.

“This is an emotional moment, after a year of intense testing activity,” comments Paolo Martino, ESA’s lead Hera system engineer.

“It feels like a huge accomplishment to have finally concluded the test process because there is always a lot of tension involved in testing, you never be quite sure everything will go to plan. But the best is yet to come, in the shape of the launch itself.”

The trio of spacecraft were transported overnight to Cologne airport in Germany, where they will be flown to Cape Canaveral in the USA this evening for launch by Space X Falcon 9 in early October.

ESA’s Hera team witnessed the car-sized spacecraft’s departure along with personnel from European Test Services and prime contractor OHB.

Paolo adds: “All of us have been working day and night together since the spacecraft got here in August 2023. To make sure we made the tight schedule every moment had to count, and that meant there were no holidays, no nights off or free weekends. Some of the OHB team have had to spend the whole of the last year away from home."

“Then there have been essential contributions from the companies making our two CubeSats – Tyvak in Italy producing the Milani mineral prospector and Gomspace in Luxembourg responsible for the Juventas radar mapper."

“I’d also highlight the work of GMV for the mission’s guidance, navigation and control, OHB Italy for overseeing Hera’s power system, Beyond Gravity for the solar arrays and FHP to dress the spacecraft in its multi-layer insulation, among many others. It has taken a lot of combined effort to reach this moment.”

The accelerated schedule of the whole mission – from contract signing to ready for launch into deep space in only four years – meant that the standard testing simulating the launch and space environments were combined with functional and software testing.

Hera’s last week at ESTEC saw the team packing the Hera spacecraft while completing essential paperwork for shipment – complicated by the fact that while the mission’s supporting equipment will eventually be returned from the USA, Hera and the CubeSats will not.

From this point ESA’s Hera team will be divided. Some will accompany the spacecraft at Cape Canaveral to perform final dry runs and functional tests, while the rest will head to ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, where they will assist in Hera’s launch and early operations.

Hera mission manager Ian Carnelli will briefly bid farewell to Hera tonight as it is flown across the Atlantic Ocean aboard a gargantuan Antonov An-124 to Cape Canaveral: “This is a significant departure because the very first version of what would later become the Hera spacecraft was worked on here at ESTEC, at our Concurrent Design Facility, nearly two decades ago. It started life as an observer spacecraft called 'Sancho' that was to complement an asteroid impactor spacecraft ‘Hidalgo’ in ESA’s Don Quijote mission concept, which ended up becoming NASA’s DART."

"It’s been a long journey, but Hera is almost ready to make history!”

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Goodbye_Hera_asteroid_mission_departs_ESA_test_centre#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=03c09487-eb04-415e-93a2-ea784c3ba59d

[gongora]

https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/ADB3817/history/20240902/1936Z/EDDK
(I'm assuming this is the flight)

[jacqmans]

Hera leaves Europe
06/09/2024

On 2—3 September 2024, ESA’s Hera asteroid explorer spacecraft was flown from Cologne Bonn Airport, Germany, to the NASA Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida, USA, inside an Antonov AN-124 cargo aircraft. Hera will launch from Cape Canaveral, USA, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in early October 2024.

[Star One]

I didn’t think there was any AN-124’s available for such tasks for obvious reasons.

[Skyrocket]

I didn’t think there was any AN-124’s available for such tasks for obvious reasons.

Antonov Airlines has relocated its remaining aircraft from Hostomel Airport (Ukraine) to Leipzig/Halle Airport (Germany) - including five AN-124.
So they are still in business and are operating outside the war zone.

[baldusi]

I didn’t think there was any AN-124’s available for such tasks for obvious reasons.

Antonov Airlines has relocated its remaining aircraft from Hostomel Airport (Ukraine) to Leipzig/Halle Airport (Germany) - including five AN-124.
So they are still in business and are operating outside the war zone.

In fact, the failure to move their whole fleet in time was quite the scandal.

[jacqmans]

Hera CubeSats’ touchdown
11/09/2024

When ESA’s Hera asteroid mission for planetary defence touched down at its Florida launch site in its Antonov An-124 transporter, the mission’s two shoebox-sized CubeSats travelled with it. This is the moment the Milani and Juventas CubeSats made it down to the ground on the morning of 3 September.

The two CubeSats have since undergone functional testing – to check no damage was sustained from their travels – then been fuelled, and are now integrated into the main spacecraft, in readiness for a planned launch by SpaceX Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in early October.

Seen left is the Milani CubeSat in its container, produced for ESA by Tyvak International in Italy, with the Juventas CubeSat from GomSpace in Luxembourg to the right.

The Milani CubeSat hosts a multispectral imager to map surface mineralogy as well as a dust surveyor. Juventas carries a radar instrument, to perform the first radar probe of an asteroid’s internal structure, along with a gravity-detecting gravimeter.

The CubeSats have been stowed in their ‘Deep Space Deployers’ on Hera’s top-side Asteroid Deck, which will stow them safely until they are ready to be deployed one at a time in the vicinity of the mission’s target Didymos binary asteroid.

[bolun]

https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_asteroid_mission_launch_kit

Hera asteroid mission launch kit

[zubenelgenubi]

I have read nothing about Falcon 9 first stage recovery.  I assume RTLS is out of the question?  I would think it will be an ASDS recovery, but for the greatest velocity transfer, the first stage must be expended.

Any clues as to which?

[StraumliBlight]

I have read nothing about Falcon 9 first stage recovery.  I assume RTLS is out of the question?  I would think it will be an ASDS recovery, but for the greatest velocity transfer, the first stage must be expended.

Any clues as to which?

The Hera Launch Kit says "The spacecraft will leave Earth with an escape velocity of 5.6 km/s." and its launch mass is 1081 kg.

A Falcon 9 can launch ~3000 kg at 6 km/s with ASDS recovery or ~2000 kg with RTLS, which seems like plenty of margin for recovery (assuming no calculation errors!).

[Ollopa11]

Hera project managers were pretty catagoric that the first stage would be expended, speaking at a science workshop in April.  But since Falcon 9 people seem to be able to pull performance out of their ears whenever they like,  I wouldn't take that as gospel.

[GewoonLukas_]

Hera project managers were pretty catagoric that the first stage would be expended, speaking at a science workshop in April.  But since Falcon 9 people seem to be able to pull performance out of their ears whenever they like,  I wouldn't take that as gospel.

During the launch of NASA's DART spacecraft, the Falcon 9 first stage landed approximately 652km downrange (recent Galileo launch was 670km). DART's launch mass was 610kg, so with its 1,081kg launch mass, Hera is ~77% heavier then DART. And while DART required ~0.8km²/s² more, it would not surprise me if Hera would require an expendable launch.

[StraumliBlight]

During the launch of NASA's DART spacecraft, the Falcon 9 first stage landed approximately 652km downrange (recent Galileo launch was 670km). DART's launch mass was 610kg, so with its 1,081kg launch mass, Hera is ~77% heavier then DART. And while DART required ~0.8km²/s² more, it would not surprise me if Hera would require an expendable launch.

DART had some performance penalties.

The Falcon 9 should have plenty of performance. If we compare this to a launch directly east from Cape Canaveral, there are 3 losses:
(a) Vandenburg is further North, so it only has an Earth spin component of 380 m/s (Cape is 402 m/s).
(b) It's launching into a 56o orbit, so it only gets 380*cos(56) = 212 m/s eastward.
(c) A 20o dogleg up until 1500 m/s ground speed costs about 110 m/s.  (SpaceX telemetry shows a speed of about 2133 m/s at staging, but the rocket is going about 45o up at this point, so the ground speed is about 1500 m/s.)

So if we add this up we have a 300 m/s penalty compared to launching straight East from Florida.  That makes the velocity here (C3 = 6.52 km^2/sec^2) the same as a C3=13.5 km^2/sec^2 launch from Florida.  But according the NASA launch vehicle performance website, F9 can lift about 1800 kg to this C3 (you need to extrapolate as the curve goes only to C3=10).  In fact F9 RTLS could almost do this, with an apparent capability of about 500 kg to a C3 of 13.5.

If the launch was from Florida, this likely could have been RTLS.  F9 can do about 1100 kg in this case to a C3=6.52 km^2/sec^2.  This would be somewhat reduced since the DLA for this window is >28.5o, but not by that much.

[GewoonLukas_]

Confirmed expendable by the mission manager:

We use an expendable F9, we need an wscaoe velocity of 5.9km/s thus using all the energy available. Will be the last ride for this booster

https://twitter.com/deepbluedot/status/1837602420584526023

[zubenelgenubi]

Which first stage will be used for this launch? (semi-rhetorical question)

Falcon 9 first stages are now cleared for use up to forty times for non-crewed launches, although that number is apparently more restricted for Cargo Dragon or Cygnus than these other payloads.

Almost-new first stage 1085.2 is set aside for Crew-9.

1064.6 and 1065.6 are the Falcon Heavy side boosters for Europa Clipper.

1072.2 and 1086.2 are being converted to "single-sticks" after their recovery as the Falcon Heavy side boosters from the GOES-U launch.

Finally, this will be a rare Falcon 9 expendable launch.

Available first stages, with UTC date of most recent recovery:
1072.2    Jun 25   (doubtful due to young age)
1086.2    Jun 25   (doubtful due to young age)
1080.11  Aug 4
1073.18  Aug 12
1076.17  Aug 15
1069.19  Aug 31
1077.16  Sep 5
1083.5    Sep 10   (doubtful due to young age, perhaps reserved for SpX-31?)
1078.14  Sep 12
1067.23  Sep 17  (maybe, but it is the oldest available in Florida)

Edit October 6: B1061.23 is the chosen first stage, transported by truck across country from Vandenberg SFB for its final launch.

[Starship_SpaceX]

The 5.9 km/s escape velocity would seem to mean that the Hera mission will briefly become the fastest escape mission ever launched by a Falcon, second only to the Europa Clipper mission.

[ddspaceman]

ESA's Hera mission
@ESA_Hera
📽️#HeraMission, @ESA's first Planetary Defence spacecraft is nearing launch. Hera will probe the lingering mysteries of a unique asteroid - the sole body in our Solar System to have had its orbit shifted by human action https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2024/09/Hera_planetary_defence_mission_solving_asteroid_mysteries

https://twitter.com/ESA_Hera/status/1838532790234513846

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/deepbluedot/status/1838762615381610730

Today we completed MMO fueling activities. Tomorrow setting up for MMH. This is when we need 👨‍🚀 a big thank you to all teams involved @SpaceX @EuroAstro @esa

[StraumliBlight]

Hera pre-launch media briefings [Sep 23]

Online pre-launch media briefing in English (Wednesday 2 October 14:00 – 15:00 CEST)

Hera online pre-launch media briefing and Q&A with:
 • Ian Carnelli, Hera Project Manager, ESA
 • Richard Moissl, Head of Planetary Defence Office, ESA
 • Ignacio Tanco, Flight Director, ESA
 • Michael Kueppers, Project Scientist, ESA
 • Stefan Voegt, Hera Project Manager and Head of Department Space Safety Missions, OHB

Online pre-launch media briefing in German (Wednesday 2 October 11:00 – 12:00 CEST)

Hera online pre-launch media briefing in German and Q&A with:
 • Rolf Densing, Operations Director, ESA
 • Holger Krag, Head of Space Safety Programme Office, ESA
 • Richard Moissl, Head of Planetary Defence Office, ESA
 • Michael Kueppers, Project Scientist, ESA
 • Andreas Winkler, Programme Director for Exploration, Space Safety and Space Transportation Systems, OHB

Online pre-launch media briefing in Italian (Wednesday 2 October 13:00 – 14:00 CEST)

Hera online pre-launch media briefing in Italian and Q&A with:
 • Ian Carnelli, Hera Project Manager, ESA
 • Paolo Martino, Hera Deputy Project Manager, ESA
 • Luca Conversi, Near-Earth Object Coordination Centre Manager, ESA
 • Diego Calzolaio, Hera Chief Engineer and Deputy Project Manager, OBH

Online pre-launch media briefing in French (Wednesday 2 October – 15:00 – 16:00)
 • Ian Carnelli, Hera Project Manager, ESA
 • Patrick Michel,  Hera Principal Investigator, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

[jacqmans]

Nearing Hera era in space
30/09/2024

One week before ESA’s Hera asteroid mission launch window opens, this group shot shows ESA and OHB team members performing final spacecraft tests (look closely for the mission's dinosaur mascot as well).

The photo was taken inside the North Integration Cell of the SpaceX Payload Processing Facility, located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Just visible in the background, with red tags placed on its corner thrusters, Hera has now been filled with propellant and as a next step awaits encapsulation within its launcher fairing.

Due to be launched on a Space Falcon 9, Hera is ESA's first planetary defence mission, heading to a unique target among the 1.3 million known asteroids of our Solar System.

If an incoming asteroid were to threaten Earth, what could people do about it? On 26 September 2022 NASA’s DART mission performed humankind’s first test of asteroid deflection by crashing into the Great-Pyramid-sized Dimorphos moonlet. The result was a shift in its orbit around the mountain-sized Didymos main asteroid.

Next comes ESA’s own contribution to this international collaboration: the Hera mission will revisit Dimorphos to gather vital close-up data about the deflected body, to turn DART’s grand-scale experiment into a well-understood and potentially repeatable planetary defence technique.

The mission will also perform the most detailed exploration yet of a binary asteroid system – although binaries make up 15% of all known asteroids, they have never been surveyed in detail. Hera will also perform technology demonstration experiments, including the deployment ESA’s first deep space ‘CubeSats’ – shoebox-sized spacecraft to venture closer than the main mission then eventually land – and an ambitious test of 'self-driving' for the main spacecraft, based on vision-based navigation.

[zubenelgenubi]

Nearing Hera era in space
30/09/2024
<snip>
The photo was taken inside the North Integration Cell of the SpaceX Payload Processing Facility, located at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
<snip>

How many processing cells are there, there?

[jacqmans]

DLR Press Release from 30 September 2024

German-built ESA space probe Hera is ready to take a closer look at near-Earth asteroids


The history of Earth has repeatedly shown the danger that asteroids can pose, and even today, the devastating impact of a celestial body on our planet cannot be ruled out. Science fiction films feature technologies to prevent impacts, but can asteroid deflection also succeed in real life? These and many other questions are to be answered by the Hera mission of the European Space Agency (ESA), which will embark on a two-year journey to study the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system for six months. The launch window for the space probe will be open from 7 to 27 October 2024, with take-off on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Germany is the largest contributor to the mission. The German Space Agency at the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) coordinates Germany's ESA contributions with funds from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK). DLR is involved in terms of science through its Microgravity User Support Centre (MUSC) in Cologne and the DLR Institute of Planetary Research. The spacecraft was developed and built by the company OHB in Bremen, and Hera will send its data to Earth using a newly developed German antenna. Last but not least, two cameras produced in Jena will provide images of Didymos and Dimorphos.

"Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid struck Mexico and was very probably the cause of the extinction of the dinosaurs. If large asteroids were to hit Earth, it would pose a real threat to our planet and all of humanity. With the Hera mission, we are expanding our knowledge of asteroids and, together with NASA, JAXA, ESA and other space agencies, are making a major contribution to effective planetary defence," says Walther Pelzer, DLR Executive Board member and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR.

Planetary defence against asteroids

Asteroid impacts on Earth are very rare but can have serious consequences. On 15 February 2013, around 1500 people were injured when a small asteroid measuring 20 metres across entered Earth's atmosphere near Chelyabinsk, a Russian city with a population of over one million. Most of it vaporised, but what remained triggered an explosion at an altitude of around 30 kilometres, sending a shock wave that caused injuries in the city from countless shattered window panes. "Chelyabinsk was an event that serves as a warning, and to prevent dangerous incidents in the future, we need the data from the Hera mission," explains Manuel Metz, Hera project manager at the German Space Agency at DLR. "The consequences of an impact by a larger celestial body would be much more severe and could even threaten entire ocean coasts or continents. This would have existential consequences for the survival of humanity," emphasises Stephan Ulamec of MUSC, who is involved in the Hera mission’s science tea. “The remains of the almost 200-kilometre-wide Chicxulub crater in what is now Mexico are a testament to this."

Preparing to ward off near-Earth objects

The good news is that none of the approximately 36,000 known near-Earth objects (NEOs) with a diameter of more than 100 metres are currently on a collision course with Earth. The Apophis asteroid, discovered in 2004, will fly past Earth in 2029 and at its closest approach will be just 31,750 kilometres away, closer than geostationary satellites. Apophis is around 350 metres in diameter, which would have extreme consequences in the event of an impact. Based on what we know today, such a collision can be ruled out for the 21st century, but the fact that Apophis will pass so close to Earth shows that we must always be prepared for such events. In order to develop methods for effectively countering such dangers, NASA and ESA are conducting the 'Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment' (AIDA) joint project, consisting of NASA's DART and ESA's Hera missions.

The DART and Hera missions

NASA began the project with the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) space probe. The chosen target was the Didymos and Dimorphos binary asteroid system, where the much smaller Dimorphos (around 150 metres in diameter) orbits the larger Didymos (around 800 metres in diameter). The aim was to influence the time that it takes for the asteroids to orbit each other. To do this, DART collided with Dimorphos at a controlled speed of over six kilometres per second (22,500 kilometres per hour) on 26 September 2022. Measurements with telescopes were able to determine that the orbital period had been shortened by 33 minutes from the original 11 hours 55 minutes, surpassing the 10-minute reduction predicted by prior modelling.

Hera will now be sent to the binary asteroid system to investigate exactly how the orbital period and shape of the asteroid has changed. The probe is equipped with 12 measuring instruments for this purpose. Among the most important ones are the two Asteroid Framing Cameras (AFC), two redundant monochromatic cameras built in Jena, which will be used to determine the position of the space probe in the asteroid system. They are essential for the navigation of the spacecraft and will also contribute to further exploration of the asteroids.

Digital terrain model of the asteroid

The Hera science team will use the images from the AFCs to calculate a digital terrain model of the asteroid and search for changes caused by the DART impact on Dimorphos (in fact the asteroid's name derives from the Greek for 'two forms', referring to its changed shape after the impact). "Was a crater created on Dimorphos? Was the entire asteroid altered? Was Didymos' surface also affected by ejected material? We want to answer these questions using our digital terrain model," says Principal Investigator for the cameras Jean-Baptiste Vincent from the DLR Institute of Planetary Research.

CubeSats land on Dimorphos

Hera will also carry two CubeSats, named Juventas and Milani, each the size of a shoebox. The nanosatellites will observe Dimorphos at close range and ultimately attempt to land on it in the final phase of the mission to measure its surface characteristics, interior structure and gravitational field. The measurements are intended to determine the exact mass of Dimorphos, which will have already been determined by the AFCs. The data obtained will then be used to calculate how other celestial bodies could be deflected, forming the basis of a planetary defence mission in the event of an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. The data collected will also mark a further milestone in asteroid research more generally.

German technology featured in a European joint project

Germany is the largest contributor to the ESA mission, providing around 130 million euros (37 percent of the total). The Hera spacecraft was developed and built by OHB SE in Bremen. A newly developed antenna made of carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic was produced by Munich-based HPS, while the two AFCs are from Jena-Optronik. The TUD Dresden University of Technology is heavily involved in the development of the radar experiment on the Juventas CubeSat. German researchers are also working on the Hera Science team to scientifically evaluate the data obtained from the mission. The German Space Agency at DLR is coordinating all of these German contributions to the mission with funding from the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK).

https://www.dlr.de/en/latest/news/2024/german-built-esa-space-probe-hera-is-ready-to-take-a-closer-look-at-near-earth-asteroids

[jacqmans]

Last pre-launch view of Hera CubeSat
01/10/2024

A last glimpse by human eyes of the Juventas CubeSat, as it is installed aboard ESA’s Hera planetary defence spacecraft within Space X’s Payload Processing Facility.

Like its counterpart Milani CubeSat, the next time this shoebox-sized spacecraft will be revealed will be in two years’ time, when the pair are deployed into space around the Didymos binary asteroid.

The Juventas CubeSat carries a radar instrument, to perform the first radar probe of an asteroid’s internal structure, along with a gravity-detecting gravimeter. Milani hosts a multispectral imager to map surface mineralogy as well as a dust surveyor.

Juventas has now been installed inside the slot-shaped Deep Space Deployer seen here directly below it on Hera’s topside ‘Asteroid Deck’.

This deployer will keep the CubeSat alive and healthy during the mission’s cruise phase, exchanging telemetry and telecommands with the ground, updating software, charging batteries, test reaction wheels and performing final health checks.

Milani’s own Deep Space Deployer is located on the other side of the Asteroid Deck, seen here already closed. In between them stands the mission’s PALT Laser Rangefinder (see the full layout of the Asteroid Deck here).

Deployment of the two CubeSats at the asteroids will be a gradual, methodical process. It will begin with springs to push each CubeSat up to the top of their deployer, but they will remain linked to Hera through an umbilical for power and communications.

Over an approximately 24-hour period each CubeSat will have its systems activated and checked out while exposed to space – including the inter-satellite links that will be used to communicate back with Hera – before undergoing their final release at a velocity of just a few centimetres per second. If they moved any faster in the ultra-low gravity environment of Didymos then Hera’s CubeSats would risk getting lost in space.

[theinternetftw]

The launch window for the space probe will be open from 7 to 27 October 2024

Worth highlighting the launch window here, considering the current F9 grounding.

[StraumliBlight]

AviationWeek [Oct 2 paywalled]

The European Space Agency (ESA) is still optimistic its Hera mission to survey the Dimorphos asteroid will launch Oct. 7 despite a technical glitch with a SpaceX Falcon 9 during a recent flight that paused operations of the launcher.

EDIT: ESA continues Hera launch preparations amid Falcon 9 grounding

That includes encapsulating the spacecraft into the rocket’s payload fairing on Oct. 3.

“We will be ready to launch” on Oct. 7, he said, pending approval from the FAA to allow Falcon 9 launches to resume. “We are basically hoping we get it by Sunday [Oct. 6].”

ESA’s Hera mission progresses towards launch pending Falcon 9 readiness

With NASA’s Europa Clipper mission also set to launch during a mid-October planetary launch window, Carnelli said he and his colleagues will be meeting Friday morning with Dr. Nicola Fox, the associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. They will be coordinating to ensure there is a healthy amount of distance between their two mission launches.

“Hera is ready for launch and I heard that Clipper is also ready for launch,” Carnelli said. “So, we just need to get all the pieces of the puzzle in the right place: weather, FAA and all the rest and I think we’re good to go.

[GewoonLukas_]

At an ESA briefing this morning, Hera project officials say they are proceeding with plans for an Oct. 7 launch on a Falcon 9, including encapsulating the spacecraft in the fairing tomorrow. Getting daily briefings on investigation and "very happy" with progress so far.

The Hera project manager, Ian Carnelli, also said they would be happy to be the return-to-flight mission for the Falcon 9, and don't require SpaceX to perform a launch before it.

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1841459447014531097

[dsmillman]

Does anyone have a link to an archive of the briefings described at:

https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Media_invitation_Hera_pre-launch_media_briefings

[Ken the Bin]

NGA Rocket Launching notice for October 7.

020813Z OCT 24
NAVAREA IV 1200/24(11,26).
WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC.
FLORIDA.
1. HAZARDOUS OPERATIONS, ROCKET LAUNCHING 
   071447Z TO 071527Z OCT, ALTERNATE 
   081441Z TO 081521Z, 091436Z TO 091516Z, 
   101430Z TO 101510Z, 111424Z TO 111504Z, 
   121418Z TO 121458Z AND 131412Z TO 131452Z OCT
   IN AREAS BOUND BY:
   A. 28-39.89N 080-38.31W, 28-38.00N 080-26.00W,
      28-31.00N 080-02.00W, 28-23.00N 079-58.00W,
      28-29.75N 080-32.68W.
   B. 26-34.00N 074-16.00W, 26-54.00N 074-07.00W,
      26-27.00N 072-34.00W, 25-37.00N 070-02.00W,
      25-00.00N 070-17.00W, 25-57.00N 072-53.00W.
2. CANCEL THIS MSG 131552Z OCT 24.//

[DanClemmensen]

Does anyone have a link to an archive of the briefings described at:

https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Media_invitation_Hera_pre-launch_media_briefings

The wayback machine (archive.org) has snapshot from 27 and 28 September:
     https://web.archive.org/web/20240000000000*/https://www.esa.int/Newsroom/Press_Releases/Media_invitation_Hera_pre-launch_media_briefings

[GewoonLukas_]

This launch cannot take place within the 48 hours before the scheduled launch of Europa Clipper:

ESA continues Hera launch preparations amid Falcon 9 grounding
October 2, 2024

[...]

The launch period for Hera runs through Oct. 27, with daily instantaneous launch windows. Carnelli said NASA has requested a 48-hour standdown ahead of the launch of Europa Clipper on a Falcon Heavy at the Kennedy Space Center, currently scheduled for Oct. 10.

[...]

[Athelstane]

This launch cannot take place within the 48 hours before the scheduled launch of Europa Clipper:

ESA continues Hera launch preparations amid Falcon 9 grounding
October 2, 2024

[...]

The launch period for Hera runs through Oct. 27, with daily instantaneous launch windows. Carnelli said NASA has requested a 48-hour standdown ahead of the launch of Europa Clipper on a Falcon Heavy at the Kennedy Space Center, currently scheduled for Oct. 10.

[...]

Has anyone at NASA explained why they asked for the standdown?

[Oumuamua]

This launch cannot take place within the 48 hours before the scheduled launch of Europa Clipper:

Has NASA actually stated that they'd be happy to fly the 'return-to-flight' mission, like ESA did? 
If not, some mission will have to fly before Europa Clipper does, and it might as well be Hera. If nasa does not want to fly the return to flight, they also restrict themselves to waiting a further 48 hours after the return to flight with that requirement for the standdown.

[zubenelgenubi]

As of this posting, Hera will be the Falcon 9 return-to-flight.

If I recall correctly, NASA LSP launches and all USA-based crewed launches (not commercial cargo to ISS) require ~48 hours spacing between launches using the same model (ex. Falcon 9/Falcon Heavy) to allow post-flight launch vehicle performance analysis.

So, no Falcon 9 launches within 48 hours before Falcon Heavy/Europa Clipper.

See the Starlink 6-22 launch with respect to Psyche last year.

Seeking correction or clarification.

[StraumliBlight]

As of this posting, Hera will be the Falcon 9 return-to-flight.

If I recall correctly, NASA LSP launches and all USA-based crewed launches (not commercial cargo to ISS) require ~48 hours spacing between launches using the same model (ex. Falcon 9/Falcon Heavy) to allow post-flight launch vehicle performance analysis.

So, no Falcon 9 launches within 48 hours before Falcon Heavy/Europa Clipper.

See the Starlink 6-22 launch with respect to Psyche last year.

Seeking correction or clarification.

From this article, it seems like just an agreement between ESA and NASA.

Hera Project Manager Ian Carnelli said that if Hera’s launch slips into the Europa Clipper window, ESA has agreed with NASA to stand down for 48 hours to allow Europa Clipper to proceed.  Apart from that, Hera can launch any day between October 7 and 27. It has an instantaneous launch window, so must launch at an exact time each day that shifts a bit earlier as the days progress.  If it doesn’t launch by October 27, it will have to wait two years until October 2026 when Earth and Didymos/Dimorphos are correctly aligned again.

[zubenelgenubi]

It may be both reasons?

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Launch webcast:

[scr00chy]

Launch webcast:

Counting down to October 8.

[GWR64]

The trailer doesn't run embedded,
maybe this works:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=O13Sp00Ltlw

[Ken the Bin]

The FAA ATCSCC COPA now has this launch, matching the NGA Rocket Launching notice.

https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/adv_spt.jsp

SPACEX HERA, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL
PRIMARY:        10/07/24        1447Z-1527Z
BACKUP:         10/08/24        1441Z-1521Z
                10/09/24        1436Z-1516Z
                10/10/24        1430Z-1510Z
                10/11/24        1424Z-1504Z
                10/12/24        1418Z-1458Z
                10/13/24        1412Z-1452Z

[bolun]

Some pics.

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/10/Hera_encapsulated_within_its_launcher_fairing

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/10/Hera_being_enclosed_within_its_launcher_fairing

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/10/Last_view_of_Hera_spacecraft

Credits: SpaceX

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/deepbluedot/status/1842378699917717612

#HeraMission truly is a marvellous wonder 🤩 Absolutely love this spacecraft

[catdlr]

There is a good chance to get it off by the hurricane approach later in the week.

[hartspace]

I may have missed it, but has the FAA cleared Falcon 9 to return to flight after the Crew 9 second stage issue?  Both ESA and NASA seem to be acting like it will be cleared soon.

[StraumliBlight]

Which first stage will be used for this launch? (semi-rhetorical question)

Falcon 9 first stages are now cleared for use up to forty times for non-crewed launches, although that number is apparently more restricted for Cargo Dragon or Cygnus than these other payloads.

There's speculation that a previously Vandenberg based booster will be used for this launch, possibly B1061.

https://twitter.com/Falcon9Watchers/status/1837616966498181559

[Remes]

I may have missed it, but has the FAA cleared Falcon 9 to return to flight after the Crew 9 second stage issue?  Both ESA and NASA seem to be acting like it will be cleared soon.

Nothing from the FAA. Nothing public from SX. That article said, there is an expectation that by the 6th they will receive the clearance (SX to ESA). I hope they launch all on time, but I'm not too optimistic. The silence is deafening. I cancelled my travel plans.

And aside from technical issues and the FAA now also the weather is not that great. Looks to me more like net end of next week if at all in the short run.

[Targeteer]

https://twitter.com/SLDelta45/status/1842745658836398240

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://x.com/free_space/status/1842924846436778044

Next weather briefing for launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 with ESA Hera asteroid probe is 5:30 pm today. ESA PAO says they've been told by SpaceX that FAA has cleared SpaceX for launch of Hera. Awaiting confirmation from FAA on that. (Or did did I miss that @jeff_foust? 🙂)

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1842933141973176676

I've heard the same about FAA approval, but nothing official from SpaceX or FAA. They're really trying for a launch Monday, since that may be the last opportunity for a while.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/esaoperations/status/1842862999654248892

Smile for the team photo! 📸 The #HeraMission dress rehearsal is complete. After months of preparations, ESA's ESOC mission control centre in Germany is ready to fly a spacecraft to rendezvous with a binary asteroid system for the first time.

https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2024/10/Mission_control_GO_for_Hera_launch

Mission control GO for Hera launch
06/10/2024

At ESA’s ESOC mission control centre, in Darmstadt, Germany, every launch is preceded by the pre-launch briefing – and the all-important team photos.

The next spacecraft to be flown from ESOC, Hera, is scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket this month.

Hera is Europe’s first asteroid mission and will be the first spacecraft to rendezvous with and explore a binary asteroid system. The Didymos system is special one: it is home to humankind’s first attempt at a technique that may one day be used to protect Earth from an asteroid on a collision course – asteroid deflection.

Two years ago, on 26 September 2022, NASA’s 580-kilogram DART spacecraft slammed into the 151-metre Dimorphos asteroid, changing its orbit around the larger, 780-metre Didymos asteroid. Now, Hera is launching on a mission to perform a detailed post-impact survey of Dimorphos. Using a suite of scientific instruments on the main spacecraft and its two CubeSat passengers, Hera will assess the effectiveness of asteroid deflection and help turn this experiment into a well-understood and repeatable technique for planetary defence.

Gathered inside the Press Centre at ESOC, this is the team that will take Hera to Didymos. They will oversee the mission from its crucial first hours in space, through its two-year journey to Didymos, via Mars, and during its exploration of the two target asteroids.

Months of preparations and simulations at mission control culminated in Saturday’s launch dress rehearsal and team photos. This final rehearsal brought together the ESA teams and the mission’s partners to test communication links between ESOC, ground stations and the spacecraft, and complete a final, meticulous run through of the sequence of events that will take place on launch day.

Preparations, rehearsals, briefings and team photos complete, mission control is GO for launch!

Follow @esa, @ESA_Hera and @esaoperations on X for live updates on launch day.

Click here for the latest details on how and when to watch the launch live.

CREDIT
ESA / J.Mai

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1842939238578548912

Hera project manager Ian Carnelli says SpaceX has informed him FAA has granted a license for a Falcon 9 launch attempt tomorrow. Final vehicle integration ongoing with rollout this evening. Launch readiness review at 5:30pm EDT today.

[GewoonLukas_]

Falcon 9 has been cleared for flight for this mission only:

From the FAA: "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."

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1842943824026280038

[Remes]

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1842944307298537789

to say something good about the FAA. Flight is since 4th cleared.

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Weather forecasts look very bad already for tomorrow's launch window, at only 15% GO (25% for Tuesday and 10% Wednesday). I suspect there will not be even an attempt until after to-be-Hurrican Milton hits Florida.

[Targeteer]

Is anyone else surprised the launch is still scheduled without SpaceX making any kind of a public statement concerning the cause the deorbit burn anomaly?

[Galactic Penguin SST]

Is anyone else surprised the launch is still scheduled without SpaceX making any kind of a public statement concerning the cause the deorbit burn anomaly?

Launch Readiness Review is apparently planned for 5:30 pm EDT so I guess any posting will be after that:

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1842939238578548912

Hera project manager Ian Carnelli says SpaceX has informed him FAA has granted a license for a Falcon 9 launch attempt tomorrow. Final vehicle integration ongoing with rollout this evening. Launch readiness review at 5:30pm EDT today.

[Athelstane]

Weather forecasts look very bad already for tomorrow's launch window, at only 15% GO (25% for Tuesday and 10% Wednesday). I suspect there will not be even an attempt until after to-be-Hurrican Milton hits Florida.

Which makes me wonder just what they will do if basically this whole week is scrubbed for launches.

On the one hand, NASA would be more comfortable with the Hera mission being the Falcon return-to-flight, a great test of the Falcon second stage on a deep space mission. On the other hand, they want 48 hours of no launches before the EC launch. If Hera can't launch until the weekend, that automatically pushes Clipper back as many days as well. Now you're starting to burn through your limited launch window.

And in October, a 28 day launch window -- even one with an opportunity every day -- can burn through pretty fast if it is an especially active tropical storm season, which this is shaping up to be. So, would they insist that Hera move back *after* Europa Clipper in this scenario?

Given the weather forecasts from the USSF, it looks like we are going to find out.

[deltaV]

The Hera Launch Kit says "The spacecraft will leave Earth with an escape velocity of 5.6 km/s." and its launch mass is 1081 kg.

A Falcon 9 can launch ~3000 kg at 6 km/s with ASDS recovery or ~2000 kg with RTLS, which seems like plenty of margin for recovery (assuming no calculation errors!).

An escape velocity of 5.6 km/s is a C3 of (5.6 km/s)^2 = 31.36 km^2/s^2. The NASA LSP performance calculator (https://elvperf.ksc.nasa.gov/Pages/Query.aspx) doesn't show Falcon ASDS performance for that C3 but extrapolating the performance plot near 0 km^2/s^2 it looks like Falcon ASDS would launch roughly 0-800 kg. So it makes sense that they're using Falcon expendable.

[GewoonLukas_]

Booster B1061-23

SpaceX is targeting Monday, October 7 for Falcon 9’s launch of the ESA Hera mission to interplanetary transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Liftoff is targeted for 10:52 a.m. ET. If needed, a backup launch opportunity is available on Tuesday, October 8 at 10:46 a.m. ET.

A live webcast of this mission will begin on X @SpaceX about 15 minutes prior to liftoff. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.

Due to the additional performance required to deliver the payload to an interplanetary transfer orbit, this mission marks the 23rd and final launch for this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously launched Crew-1, Crew-2, SXM-8, CRS-23, IXPE, Transporter-4, Transporter-5, Globalstar FM15, ISI EROS C-3, Korea 425, Maxar 1, ASBM, and 10 Starlink missions.

Hera is a planetary defense mission that will study the impact NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission spacecraft had on the Dimorphos asteroid, which Falcon 9 launched in November 2021. Hera will provide valuable data for future asteroid deflection missions and science to help humanity’s understanding of asteroid geophysics as well as solar system formation and evolutionary processes.

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=hera

Twitter/X Webcast: https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1yNGagnYbEDxj

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1843015672475132292

Targeting Monday, October 7 for Falcon 9’s launch of the @esa Hera mission to orbit from Florida. Teams continue to monitor weather, which is currently 15% favorable → spacex.com/launches/missi…

[Ollopa11]

The Hera FRR is currently underway (18:00 Eastern), per European sources.  They want to GO,  because a Saturday Europa Clipper launch would push Hera into next week.

[GewoonLukas_]

SpaceX Mission Patch:

[catdlr]

ESA's Hera mission leadership provide a prelaunch status update

Oct 6, 2024
As the rain fell outside a hotel in Cocoa Beach, Florida, mission leadership with the European Space Agency's Hera mission provided an update on the mission set to launch no earlier than Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. In the days following the briefing, Hurricane Milton is forecast to make landfall in Florida as a major Category 3 hurricane.

When it launches, the Hera spacecraft will begin a two-year journey out to the binary asteroid system consisting of Didymos and Dimorphous. ESA's mission will examine the composition of these rocky bodies and more importantly, gather key data on the results of NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which slammed into Dimorphous in 2022, changing its orbit.

[GewoonLukas_]

Exact lift-off time will be 14:52:11 UTC:

The countdown to the #HeraMission launch is underway at ESA mission control!

Find out how to watch live at: https://esa.int/Space_Safety/Hera/Hera_launch_how_to_watch

https://twitter.com/esaoperations/status/1843201347698729339

[GewoonLukas_]

#HeraMission is on pad, spacecraft on, all telemetry green. Waiting next weather update at T-2h

https://twitter.com/deepbluedot/status/1843252765491110188

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1843260707451908573

Weather permitting, SpaceX's Falcon 9 is set to launch the Hera mission to asteroid Didymos and its moon Dimorphos as a follow-up to NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission.

Overview by Justin Davenport:

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/10/hera-launch/

[FutureSpaceTourist]

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/DLR_SpaceAgency/status/1843265952798188005

The asteroid defense mission #Hera is the 23rd and last launch of this Falcon 9 first stage. Interestingly, this stage has already launched our environmental satellite #EnMAP into space. 🛰️ 🚀
Now at the launchpad of the #HeraMission : Walther Pelzer, head of the
@DLR_SpaceAgency .

[catdlr]

Here is a consolidated post of available video links for this launch:

SpaceX direct live broadcast on Web Site: 
https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=hera

SpaceaX Twitter/X Livecast:
https://x.com/i/broadcasts/1yNGagnYbEDxj

ESA Web TV: 
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/ESA_Web_TV

ESA YouTube: 
https://youtube.com/watch?v=O13Sp00Ltlw

Space Affairs YouTube (SpaceX Re-broadcast): 
https://youtube.com/watch?v=TZwKh5geuNk

Replay supplied by The Space Devs (15 min after the broadcast end):  https://youtube.com/@thespacedevs/videos

Summary Video provided by SciNews (15 min after the broadcast ends):  https://youtube.com/@SciNewsRo/videos

NSF Live Coverage: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SXsd0NvHVNI

[LouScheffer]

The Hera Launch Kit says "The spacecraft will leave Earth with an escape velocity of 5.6 km/s." and its launch mass is 1081 kg.

An escape velocity of 5.6 km/s is a C3 of (5.6 km/s)^2 = 31.36 km^2/s^2. The NASA LSP performance calculator (https://elvperf.ksc.nasa.gov/Pages/Query.aspx) doesn't show Falcon ASDS performance for that C3 but extrapolating the performance plot near 0 km^2/s^2 it looks like Falcon ASDS would launch roughly 0-800 kg. So it makes sense that they're using Falcon expendable.

I took the NASA LSP curves and added what I think are reasonable approximations for the Falcon configurations that are not mentioned (Falcon fully expended, various FH options between RTLS and fully expended).  As you can see, Hera is just barely possible with an expended Falcon 9.  This is entirely consistent with the short launch window.

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/DLR_SpaceAgency/status/1843261609944535487

Yesss!
The @SpaceX #Falcon9 with #HeraMission on top at Space Launch Complex 40.
Fingers crossed! 🌧️ 🚀 #Hera

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/RedwireSpace/status/1843269752627548551

Rain, rain go away! It’s launch day!

Erik Masure, President, Redwire Space Europe, checks in from Kennedy Space Center with one last look at the Falcon 9 rocket that will launch the Hera mission 🚀

Learn more about the Redwire Tech onboard ESA’s first planetary defense mission: https://redwirespace.com/missions/Hera/  #Heramission

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/esaoperations/status/1843282139535515926

L-1.5 hours until the #HeraMission launch!

The Flight Dynamics team at ESA mission control has calculated the precise trajectory that they expect Hera to be on after it separates from its launcher later today. This information will help Goldstone station establish contact with the spacecraft as soon as possible.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/esa_hera/status/1843283856767766952

#HeraMission L-2 hour weather check: we are currently GO for launch, but there will be additional weather checks prior to lift-off.

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/esa/status/1843284461041094941

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/1843288550164541872

F9/Hera: Now inside 1 hour to launch; ESA project manager Ian Carnelli says on X: "all systems GO! Weather improving"

Edit to add:

https://twitter.com/deepbluedot/status/1843287844842012724

[FutureSpaceTourist]

NSF stream is live

[FutureSpaceTourist]

ESA stream has started

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1843294779804918170

Propellant load has begun for today’s Falcon 9 launch of the @ESA Hera mission from Florida. Weather is currently 60% favorable for liftoff at 10:52 a.m. ET

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/_mgde_/status/1843294346826895562

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Live views from ESA stream

[FutureSpaceTourist]

T-20 vent

Edit to add: video

https://twitter.com/nasaspaceflight/status/1843298477339717945

T-20 minute vent.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

T-18 SpaceX is live

[FutureSpaceTourist]

T-13 ESA film on Dart and Hera

[FutureSpaceTourist]

T-9 and John!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

T-5 weather forecast to be GO

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Strongback is retracting

[FutureSpaceTourist]

T-2 sky looks brighter

[FutureSpaceTourist]

T-1 F9 is in start-up; LD is GO for launch

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Liftoff!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1843303547397620061

LAUNCH! SpaceX Falcon 9 B1061-23 launches ESA's HERA Misson to the Asteroid Dimorphos, from SLC-40.

Overview:
nasaspaceflight.com/2024/10/hera-l…

Livestream:
youtube.com/live/SXsd0NvHV…

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1843303550492770762

[FutureSpaceTourist]

MaxQ

[FutureSpaceTourist]

MECO, stage separation & SES-1

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Fairing separation

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1843304406680220051

Stage separation confirmed

[FutureSpaceTourist]

SECO and nominal parking orbit insertion

[FutureSpaceTourist]

SpaceX commentary pausing - returning at about T+52m for SES-2

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Remaining launch milestones:

00:52:22   2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:00   2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
01:16:02   ESA’s Hera satellite deploys

[wannamoonbase]

Remaining launch milestones:

00:52:22   2nd stage engine starts (SES-2)
00:54:00   2nd stage engine cutoff (SECO-1)
01:16:02   ESA’s Hera satellite deploys

1) A 98 second US burn is really going to get this payload cooking!
2) I love that there were 22 previous flights of this booster before it was sent to Stovokor

[shiro]

Some reusability stats for this launch (Hera):

Booster B1061.23 turnaround time:
56 days 12 hours 50 minutes
(its previous mission was Space Norway ASBM on Aug 12, 2024 UTC).

FYI: median turnaround time for Falcon 9 / Heavy boosters is currently 46.16 days *
* – based on the last 30 launches, excluding new first stages.

Launchpad SLC-40 turnaround time:
8 days 21 hours 35 minutes
(the previous launch from this pad was Crew-9 on Sep 28, 2024 UTC).

FYI: median turnaround time for SLC-40 is currently 5.21 days *
* – based on the last 30 launches.

The same type of stats for previous SpaceX launches may be found on this spreadsheet online.

[Targeteer]

DSN supporting.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

SpaceX is back

[FutureSpaceTourist]

SES-2

[FutureSpaceTourist]

T+53

[meekGee]

Quite the upgrade, adding 4500 km/sec to the payload

If you absolutely positively need to be there overnight!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

MECO-2

[FutureSpaceTourist]

"Nominal burn 2"

[panjabi]

"Nominal burn 2"

For you interplanterary orbit transfer specialists:  Is the velocity drop from 43K kmph to 38K kmph in about 8 minutes expected and nominal?

[LouScheffer]

At the end of the second burn, it was accelerating fast.  At the first frame of 54:03, it was at 42645 km/hr.  At the first frame of 54:04, it was 42851 km/hr.
So a delta of 206 km/hr, or 57.2 m/s, or an acceleration of 5.84 g.

[greybeardengineer]

Wow. Notice the sparkling in the stage 2 video? That is likely radiation hits on the imager arrays from passing through the Van Allen belts.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Not orbital any more

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Clear camera views now

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Deployment!

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Webcast has ended

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/esa_hera/status/1843322607489155508

Separation complete: Hera is alone in space. Thanks for the ride, @SpaceX!

THe #HeraMission will soon power up its core systems and start transmitting its first signals from space. Next up: the all-important reception of these signals at NASA's Goldstone station in California.

Hello, @esaoperations…

[Targeteer]

ESA broadcast continuing, waiting for spacecraft contact..

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Video:

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1843322748342313090

Deployment of @ESA’s Hera confirmed

[Targeteer]

contact

[Targeteer]

DSN display confirms receipt at Goldstone

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Telemetry received “please commence with operations”

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Congratulations to ESA and SpaceX on a fantastic launch and start of mission operations!

I don't think I've ever seen an L-1 weather forecast as low as 15% GO and see it launch

A reminder that this thread is just for the launch. On-going Hera operations belong in the dedicated Hera thread:

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47135.0

[Targeteer]

"I was wearing my lucky dinosaur socks"...

FST edit to add screen grabs

[ZachS09]

Congratulations to ESA and SpaceX on a fantastic launch and start of mission operations!

I don't think I've ever seen an L-1 weather forecast as low as 15% GO and see it launch

A reminder that this thread is just for the launch. On-going Hera operations belong in the dedicated Hera thread:

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47135.0

Just try to count down on launch day even if weather is bleak.

[Targeteer]

Now SpaceX can go into full batten down mode with Milton having reached Cat 5 status, for now...

[abaddon]

Wow. Notice the sparkling in the stage 2 video? That is likely radiation hits on the imager arrays from passing through the Van Allen belts.

I did and was wondering about that.  Thanks for the possible explanation, that would make sense.

[Star One]

Hera deployment:

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Launch highlights:

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Full SpaceX webcast rehost on YouTube:

[Targeteer]

https://twitter.com/cbs_spacenews/status/1843323310328676369

F9/Hera: A final thought: only a handful of rockets have taken off from Florida when the forecast the day before launch was 85% 'no-go' or worse; Hera now joins that short list; but it shows once again why managers do not like to call off a launch despite and initially bad forecast

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1843340069501055427

View from Falcon 9's second stage during the Hera mission

[ugordan]

Wow. Notice the sparkling in the stage 2 video? That is likely radiation hits on the imager arrays from passing through the Van Allen belts.

Yup. Enhanced by the fact that the stage was in darkness with only the low level onboard light present so exposure durations/gains were higher. Still looks pretty scary, though.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/theoldmanpar/status/1843362571921076448

Closer view of the #SpaceX #Hera launch for ESA from earlier today.

[LouScheffer]

Return of MVac deep throttling?  In the 2015 Falcon 9 Users Manual, the second stage could throttle down to 360 kN (81,000 lbf).  But in the 2021 User's Manual, it can only go as low as 626 kN (140,679 lbf).  So did SpaceX really remove the deep throttle capability?

The Hera mission offers a clue.   As in a post above, it was accelerating at 57.2 m/s just before burnout.  And since it launched on the first day of the window, we can guess the mass fairly accurately - it will be empty stage 2 mass, fuel reserve, and spacecraft.  It's thought the second stage empty mass is about 4 tonnes, reserves at 1% would be 1.1 tonne, and the spacecraft is 1.1 tonne.  So altogether about 6.2 tonnes.   This gives a thrust of 355 kN, very nearly equal to the previously quoted minimum.  So I suspect that's the real minimum throttle, and the new user's manual for some reason quotes a higher number.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spacex/status/1843374114498850975

Falcon 9 launches the @ESA Hera mission to interplanetary transfer orbit from Florida

[GWR64]

Return of MVac deep throttling?  In the 2015 Falcon 9 Users Manual, the second stage could throttle down to 360 kN (81,000 lbf).  But in the 2021 User's Manual, it can only go as low as 626 kN (140,679 lbf).  So did SpaceX really remove the deep throttle capability?

The Hera mission offers a clue.   As in a post above, it was accelerating at 57.2 m/s just before burnout.  And since it launched on the first day of the window, we can guess the mass fairly accurately - it will be empty stage 2 mass, fuel reserve, and spacecraft.  It's thought the second stage empty mass is about 4 tonnes, reserves at 1% would be 1.1 tonne, and the spacecraft is 1.1 tonne.  So altogether about 6.2 tonnes.   This gives a thrust of 355 kN, very nearly equal to the previously quoted minimum.  So I suspect that's the real minimum throttle, and the new user's manual for some reason quotes a higher number.

Maybe you should subtract that. So 981-626 kN. What a mistake in the Users Manual.

However, the launch was a great success for everyone involved.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/_rykllan/status/1843374067908575362

Recent launch of #Hera mission via #SpaceX's #Falcon9 vehicle

#Space #ESA

B1061: 23 launches in under 4 years

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Launch photos from ESA flickr

[Targeteer]

I may regret asking, but how is Goldstone still in contact with Hera 7 hours after launch?  When will the earth's rotation cause Loss of signal? Update Goldstone just lost contact...

[Steven Pietrobon]

I wasn't paying attention and missed that this launch was on! Fortunately, archive.org captured the press kit but their software doesn't capture the main image. I used an image that was posted on X instead.

https://web.archive.org/web/20241007041855/https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=hera

[catdlr]

Congratulations to ESA and SpaceX on a fantastic launch and start of mission operations!

I don't think I've ever seen an L-1 weather forecast as low as 15% GO and see it launch

A reminder that this thread is just for the launch. On-going Hera operations belong in the dedicated Hera thread:

https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=47135.0

After reading and catching up on this launch, I didn't see any congratulations to FutureSpaceTourist and his complete launch coverage on NSF Forums.  Thank you, FST.   Tony

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/_mgde_/status/1843419690607296567

Hera, the heavenly heroine, was hastily hurled into the high heavens, narrowly navigating the portending winds of a hurricane, nefarious & near.

📸 - @NASASpaceflight

[FutureSpaceTourist]

ESA highlights video:

[Targeteer]

Goldstone is supporting Hera again.

[markbike528cbx]

Does anyone have info, or even a swag on how deep into the "landing burn"  propellant volume this first stage went?
I can't imagine very deep, as 9 engines use more, and what is a 9 second burn with one engine is a one second burn with 9.  A little too much and you have an anomaly. 

Yes, I know the center is throttled down a bit on landing, but that just emphasizes my point.

[LouScheffer]

Does anyone have info, or even a swag on how deep into the "landing burn"  propellant volume this first stage went?
I can't imagine very deep, as 9 engines use more, and what is a 9 second burn with one engine is a one second burn with 9.  A little too much and you have an anomaly. 

Yes, I know the center is throttled down a bit on landing, but that just emphasizes my point.

To first order, the re-entry burn (to keep the F9 from melting on re-entry) takes about 20 seconds on 3 engines, or about 60 engine-seconds.  The landing burn takes about 30 seconds on one engine.  So a total of 90 engine-seconds.  So using the fuel it would otherwise need for landing, the booster can fire all nine engines for an additional 10 seconds.  At this point, it's accelerating at about 3g, so it will stage about 300 m/s faster than it would on an ASDS recovery mission.

[LouScheffer]

Upon further review, this is not the right way to find the difference between an expendable and ASDS mission.  Using time and acceleration is iffy, as throttling can affect both.  Better to use the rocket equation, which uses only masses and ISP. (Plus computing it this way agrees with the data on SpaceX webcasts.  That's always a plus.)

The first part, the 90 engine-seconds is fine.  And all of this, except perhaps the last few seconds, will be at full throttle since that minimizes gravity losses.  Now each engine, with a thrust of 845 kN and an ISP of 311, eats 277 kg/sec, so 90 seconds take 25 tonnes of fuel.  It's a little less, from both the throttling and the 1-3-1 sequence for the entry burn, so not all engines are on for all 20 seconds.  On the other hand there needs to be some margin kept.  Let's say 24 tonnes for landing fuel.

Now compute the delta-V with and without using that margin.  Assuming start fuel = 436 tonnes, empty first stage mass = 27 tonnes,  second stage + payload is 118.5 tonnes, then the difference in delta-V is 454 m/s, all else being equal.

But all else is *not* equal.  The payload is light (1.2 tonnes) rather than the usual 6 tonne comsat.  Plus there is no need for legs, so take 2 tonnes off the dry mass of the first stage.  Combined that gives a hypothetical staging difference of about 560 m/s.

We can compare this to the speeds shown on the SpaceX webcasts.  Hera staged at 10,220 km/hr.  Other flights of booster 1061 staged at speeds somewhat above and below 8200 km/hr.   So the measured difference is about 2020 km/hr, or 556 m/s faster when expendable.  So everything seems more or less consistent.

[Steven Pietrobon]

Just finished watching the SpaceX webcast and was surprised to see two video leaks of the second stage tank at T+1:05:48 and T+1:06:28! I suspect the radiation environment might have caused a computer glitch which allowed the video to leak through. After the second leak, SpaceX stopped the video from the second stage until just before spacecraft separation, where the leak was apparently fixed.

Anyway, we see four large COPV helium tanks with one of the tanks having COMMERCIAL written on top of the tank. Not sure what that is supposed to mean. There appears to be vapour surrounding the helium tanks. Flick between the two images to see the vapour moving. This could be caused by the super cold helium tanks causing the gaseous oxygen in the tank to condense, like water vapour in air. The tank appears to have quite a bit of LOX left. We can see the filter structure in the centre quite clearly. Compared to five years ago, the white tank does not appear to be present.

[LouScheffer]

My guess would be that this was not accidental, but upon a request from the propulsion engineers to see exactly how much LOX was left in the tank.  Since this launch was on the first day of the window, after the final burn, there should be nothing left except performance reserves (otherwise the window would be longer). 

The second stage holds about 75,000 kg of LOX.  If reserves are 1%, that's 750 kg, well under a cubic meter.  Without doing the calculation, I'd expect that to fill the downcomer with maybe a little pool at the center of the common dome.  I suspect this is what they were looking at.

I also suspect that if showing this was a mistake, it was human error and not a computer glitch.  Likely they meant to shut the public video off, *then* take the LOX pictures.  But somehow the timeline got scrambled, and we got a peek.

[LouScheffer]

"Nominal burn 2"

For you interplanterary orbit transfer specialists:  Is the velocity drop from 43K kmph to 38K kmph in about 8 minutes expected and nominal?

Don't know about the time scale, but the velocity is expected to drop by a lot over the next few days.  This launch had a C3 of about 32 km²/sec².  That's the square of the velocity at infinity, after the Earth's gravity has finished its work of slowing the spacecraft down.  So you'd expect this speed to drop to 5.65 km/sec (20.4 kmph) over the next few days.  But it drops more and more slowly as the spacecraft gets further from Earth, until it settles out at the final value.

Bottom line:  SpaceX said at some point "Nominal trajectory", so the drop in speed is an aspect of that trajectory, and quite expected.

[Brigantine]

video leaks of the second stage tank

Possible connection to a fix for the Crew-9 2nd stage over-burn

The leak was fixed in both figurative and literal sense!

[Steven Pietrobon]

My guess would be that this was not accidental, but upon a request from the propulsion engineers to see exactly how much LOX was left in the tank.

Video of the second stage tank is always broadcast to the ground, interleaved with views of the engine and payload. However, SpaceX does not want to the public to see the tank views, so cuts them off and shows the orbit animation instead. These leaks happened quite a lot in the early days of Falcon 9, but its been awhile since the last leak.

[GWR64]

My guess would be that this was not accidental, but upon a request from the propulsion engineers to see exactly how much LOX was left in the tank.  Since this launch was on the first day of the window, after the final burn, there should be nothing left except performance reserves (otherwise the window would be longer). 

The second stage holds about 75,000 kg of LOX.  If reserves are 1%, that's 750 kg, well under a cubic meter.  Without doing the calculation, I'd expect that to fill the downcomer with maybe a little pool at the center of the common dome.  I suspect this is what they were looking at.

I also suspect that if showing this was a mistake, it was human error and not a computer glitch.  Likely they meant to shut the public video off, *then* take the LOX pictures.  But somehow the timeline got scrambled, and we got a peek.

But wouldn't pictures be more interesting towards the end of the engine burn? Like at the Starlink launch shown.
In the pictures from the Hera launch, the upper stage is without propulsion, so the oxygen floats around weightless
or sticks to the tank's internal components.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/spaceoffshore/status/1845098679302029649

SpaceX recovery ship Doug makes a triumphant post-Milton return to Port Canaveral with both fairing halves from the Hera mission.

Can you spot the marks where the decal artwork on the fairing half was scorched away on re-entry? nsf.live/spacecoast

[realnouns]

Although Doug destination was identified as Port Canaveral, it looked to be headed northeast towards the LZ.  Go Cosmos looks to be headed south toward PC.  Go Cosmos departed Port of Charleston on Sep 17 @ 6:59am ET

Doug returned to PC on Sep 20 @ 7:00am ET

Doug departed PC on Oct 4 @ 11:46am ET

Doug returned to PC on Oct 12 @ 9:36am ET