Launch Roundup: Soyuz to resupply the ISS; SpaceX to launch more Starlink satellites

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This week, SpaceX looks to continue its incredible launch cadence with two more launches of Falcon 9 and a Soyuz 2.1a plans to resupply the International Space Station (ISS).

The week begins with Roscosmos planning to launch the Progress MS-25 resupply capsule on a Soyuz 2.1a up to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.  Then, a Falcon 9 launch out of Vandenburg Spaceforce Base (VSFB) will take multiple different payloads to a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) in one launch and also has a return-to-launch site landing. Later that day, SpaceX will launch 23 more Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit (LEO) from Cape Canaveral Space Forse Station. Finishing off the week, another Chinese rocket, the Jielong-3 plans to take an unknown payload to an SSO. 

Soyuz 2.1a | Progress MS-25

Roscosmos is preparing to launch its eighth Soyuz 2.1a mission of 2023 out of Site 31/6 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On Friday, Dec. 1 at 4:25 AM EST (09:25 UTC), Soyuz 2.1a is preparing to take cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). Supplies will be brought up to the seven astronauts on the ISS and will autonomously dock to the ISS’s Prichal module on Dec. 3 at 6:14 AM EST (11:14 UTC). 

Progress MS-25 is taking around 2,500 kilograms of cargo up to the ISS. Some of the specific supplies that the spacecraft is bringing up include 515 kilograms of fuel, 420 kilograms of water, and 40 kilograms of compressed nitrogen. All of these help keep the space station alive and in a healthy workable state. The rest of the space is left for cargo like food, and medical supplies along with stowage for scientific experiments and resource equipment. This will be the 86th mission of the Progress cargo capsule and it will continue to extend the lifespan of the ISS.

Falcon 9 Block 5 | 425 Project Flight

SpaceX is preparing to launch its first Falcon 9 this week out of VSFB’s SLC-4E launch site. This launch is scheduled to take off on Friday, Dec. 1, at 10:04 AM PST (18:04 UTC). Falcon 9 will take five reconnaissance satellites for South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) to an SSO while taking at least three different rideshare satellites on the ride with it.

B1075 will be the booster to fly on this mission. It has flown seven times before this launch, taking six previous Starlink missions totaling 207 Starlink satellites and the first launch of SDA’s 10 Tranche 0 satellites. If the launch happens on time, it will have taken B1075 only 31 days of turnaround time for the booster to be fully refurbished and reflown, the lowest amount of time for this specific booster so far. 

The main payload for this mission is South Korea’s DAPA reconnaissance satellite. This is the first launch in the batch of five reconnaissance satellites. Even though this satellite is in the same category as the other four satellites, it will be the only different optic satellite out of the group of five. This launch will feature an electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) telescope, while the next four to launch at a later date will be synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites.

The benefit of having two different versions of imaging satellites is that EO/IR telescope satellites can image anything in the visible spectrum to the infrared spectrum but are not of much use if a cloud is in the way of the shot. SAR telescopes use radar and while not getting as clear data as an EO/IR image with a clear shot, SAR can penetrate clouds and get very good images back even when it is pitch black out. 

The reconnaissance satellite is not the only thing flying on this launch, as this mission is seemingly serving as another mini-transporter mission. While there is a chance there are many more satellites on board, the following satellites are confirmed to be launching on this mission. 

First, Ireland’s EIRSAT-1 (Educational Irish Research Satellite 1) is a CubeSat designed by the University College Dublin and Queen’s University Belfast in collaboration. It will hold three experiments, a gamma-ray module, a thermal coating test, and a new software-based attitude control system using Earth’s magnetic field. 

Next, the Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal satellite will launch — a satellite operated by the University of Melbourne. The satellite was built by the Italian Space Agency in collaboration with multiple Australian space industry companies, Inovor Technologies, Sitael Australia, Nova Systems, and Neumann Space. The mission of this nanosatellite is to determine the location of X-ray and gamma-ray in space using its X-ray and Gamma-ray spectrometer 

Finally,  an Alba Orbital mission is planned to launch on board. While it could be one of Alba Orbital’s Alba Cluster missions, it could also be the Unicorn-2 system. However, the payload is still unknown at this time. 

This Falcon 9 is planned to fly to around a 500-kilometer SSO. The booster, B1075 will be attempting a return to the launch site landing at Landing Zone 4 back at VSFB. This launch will be Falcon 9’s 279th mission to date and 84th mission this year. 

Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-31

SpaceX’s second mission of this week is planned to launch on Dec. 1, 2023, at 11:00 PM EST (04:00 UTC on Dec. 2). Falcon 9 is preparing to launch 23 Starlink v2 Mini satellites to LEO from SLC-40 out of CCSFS. The satellites are heading to a 43-degree inclination orbit on a southeastern trajectory to be put into an Initial orbit of 284 by 293 kilometers. This will then be raised by the satellites using their Hall-effect thrusters to reach the operational 530-kilometer circular orbit

The booster that is preparing to launch these satellites is still unknown at this time. The drone ship, A Shortfall of Gravitas, is heading around 600 kilometers downrange for the landing of the booster. This will be Falcon 9’s 280th mission of all time and 85th mission of 2023. Although including Falcon Heavy and Starship, there will have been 91 total this year. This leaves only nine launches left to go in one month to reach SpaceX’s goal of 100 launches in a year.

Jielong-3 | Unknown Payload

The Jielong-3 rocket is preparing to take an unknown payload to an SSO on Dec. 5, 2023, at 2:30 PM EST (7:30 UTC). While the payload is unknown, it may include the first ever Hong Kong Star satellite which plans to provide “high-precision big data for global logistics, disaster prevention and relief, emergency response and safety, remote-sensing and smart city building.” In simpler terms, this is China’s competitor to Starlink. 

China’s first Hong Kong Star satellite preparing for flight on Jielong-3

The Jielong-3 spacecraft itself is launching from a converted barge, Tai Rui, in the East China Sea. This rocket is a solid fuel-based launcher that can deliver a 500-kilogram payload to a 500-kilometer altitude into an SSO. This is Jielong-3 second flight but the first of 2023, with its first launch happening just under a year ago.

(Lead image: Launch of Starlink Group 6-29 to low-Earth orbit on Nov. 22. Credit: SpaceX)

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