I polar corridor FH flight will be very tricky, where would they recover the FH core? They go pretty far down-range. A drone ship parked right off the coast of Cuba? :-) No, I’m not sure it is practical to use FH for this.
Between November 27th, 28th and 29th, CONAE and INVAP completed the testing of the unfolding and folding mechanism of the SAOCOM 1B SAR antennas, completing the testing program. Only needs to verify its software and to perform the last propulsion subsystems checks, to be readied for transport to its Florida launch site. The schedule calls to have the satellite and support equipment packed and ready for transport before New Year.
WASHINGTON — Space-based radar imagery provider Capella Space will launch seven satellites and start commercial operations in 2020, the company announced Dec. 16....The first satellite, to be named Sequoia, will launch from Cape Canaveral in March into a polar sun-synchronous orbit on a SpaceX rocket....The new satellite design, at under 100 kilograms, is larger than the original 40 kilogram design.
Quote from: ZachS09 on 10/16/2019 08:35 pmIs SpaceX gonna do all polar-orbit missions from the Cape starting with SAOCOM 1B?As many as they can. (not all payloads are this light) It could also be a demonstration one-off to prove they can.
Is SpaceX gonna do all polar-orbit missions from the Cape starting with SAOCOM 1B?
Orbit: Sun-synchronous near-circular orbit (frozen dawn/dusk orbit), altitude = 619.6 km, inclination = 97.86º, period = 97.1 minutes, repeat cycle of 16 days (8 days for the constellation), LTAN (Local Time on Ascending Node) at 6:00 hours.
Re: SAOCOM-1B launch time of dayhttps://directory.eoportal.org/web/eoportal/satellite-missions/s/saocomQuoteOrbit: Sun-synchronous near-circular orbit (frozen dawn/dusk orbit), altitude = 619.6 km, inclination = 97.86º, period = 97.1 minutes, repeat cycle of 16 days (8 days for the constellation), LTAN (Local Time on Ascending Node) at 6:00 hours.SAOCOM-1A was launched during local (Vandenberg) dusk and the Falcon 9 produced a spectacular visual display. Weather allowing, the folks along the south Florida coast and in Cuba should also experience this. There hasn't been such a launch of these circumstances in decades; some heads-up for the locals would be in order as the launch date approaches!
https://spacenews.com/radio-occultation-ams-2020/QuotePlanetIQ is preparing to launch its first small radio occultation satellite into polar orbit in March on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The firm’s second satellite is scheduled to travel in July into dawn-to-dusk orbit on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.From a business standpoint, PlanetIQ is doing well after raising $18.7 million and winning contracts from NOAA and the U.S. Air Force, said Michael McCarthy, PlanetIQ chief revenue officer.PlanetIQ plans to fill out its constellation quickly, launching 18 to 20 radio occultation satellites between mid-2020 and mid-2022.
PlanetIQ is preparing to launch its first small radio occultation satellite into polar orbit in March on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The firm’s second satellite is scheduled to travel in July into dawn-to-dusk orbit on India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.From a business standpoint, PlanetIQ is doing well after raising $18.7 million and winning contracts from NOAA and the U.S. Air Force, said Michael McCarthy, PlanetIQ chief revenue officer.PlanetIQ plans to fill out its constellation quickly, launching 18 to 20 radio occultation satellites between mid-2020 and mid-2022.
The first polar orbit launch from Florida since 1960 is scheduled for late March, when Argentina’s SAOCOM 1B radar observation payload will take off from Cape Canaveral, not from Vandenberg as originally planned.
SAOCOM 1B (we presume) has an RTLS landing 0202-EX-ST-2020
So eh double dogleg?
